Pyres in Dale
by Nandiferd
Summary: Something went wrong the day Kili died, though no dwarf, elf or man can agree on what it was. Some now struggle to move on, while others try to make the world right again. Tauriel kicks them all in the guts as she strives to get Kili back. Tauriel / Kili. AU Non-Canon. No sex. Tim Burton influenced.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes (A/N)**

My respects to John Tolkien, Peter Jackson and Co. Please look far far away into the West as I now use your ideas for my own ends.

The key players are: Tauriel, Kili, Fili and Bard.

The supporting players are: Bran (OC), Bard's Captain of the Dale Guard, Thorin, Sigrid, Bain, Tilda, Dís and Dáin.

The Nine Circles of Hell as described by Dante Alighieri: Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here, First Circle (Limbo), Second Circle (Lust), Third Circle (Gluttony), Fourth Circle (Greed), Fifth Circle (Wrath), Sixth Circle (Heresy), Seventh Circle (Violence), Eighth Circle (Fraud), Ninth Circle (Treachery) and the Centre of Hell.

This story begins about two seasons after the end of Peter Jackson's version of the The Hobbit's BOTFA.

Author's universe. Non canon. Tim Burton influenced. No sex.

Kili and Thorin fought honourably and died. Fili survived.

It is expected that Fili will soon be crowned the next King Under the Mountain.

In Dale, Bard has become the reluctant King of his people.

 _Beta Reader Phish Tacko_ , thank you for your help and inspiration.

 **Chapter 1**

Tauriel was shivering when she awoke.

She lifted her head from where it rested in the mud and looked at the dead lands surrounding her. The Desolation of Smaug was nothing but dirt, scattered rock, dead grass, and the whistling of a dry wind. The vise-like grip of anger twisted her intestines, followed by sadness. How could she keep failing like this? What kept knocking her back down when she had every right to go up amongst the stars?

For a while, she thought she had been getting closer to the Great White above, and now she was back where she had started, on Middle Earth, face-planted in the muck. Her ears were so cold that they ached. She pushed to her feet, wiped the black muck off her clothes, and hobbled in the direction of her temporary home of Dale.

Dale, a city of men, was as cold and grey as it was every morning of late. Despite the poor light, the neglected towers, homes, and ruins had gone from haunted caves into something resembling a town. The rusted gates had been opened to welcome the wider world, though no one ever came. Behind the wall, families of the race of men were moving about, appearing safe, fed and as contented as beings could be in those dark times.

Tauriel drew closer to the gates and nodded to the two guards who were dressed in a mismatch of Lake-town armour and rags. They chose to ignore the city's only resident elf. It was the nature of all beings to be wary of an outsider, especially one that only wore black for mourning, was as thin and pale as a corpse, had the flat voice of a killer, and seemed to do a lot of sleepwalking.

A shadow moved across her face and Tauriel rested her hands on the knives sheathed at her hips. A bull of a man stood blocking her way. His enormous stature told her that he was a fighter, and judging by his heavy breathing and the sickly-sweet smell of his flesh, he had a weakness for spending his winnings on drink.

"We don't want your kind around here, witch!" the man bellowed. His voice carried the words out to the early risers nearby. People slowed to see what was happening. The guards at the gates were grinning. She had become their morning prey.

Tauriel rolled her shoulders back, hearing her joints click. If she had to fight him, she would be on doing it her own. No one would come to an outsider's aid, and there was no childhood friend who followed her like a shadow. No selfish father figure to break her bow. There was only her, and she was fine with that.

"I am an elf, as you well know," she warned in her softest voice. "Which means I can hear the filth you consume as food and drink burn a hole through your stomach as you stand here. A witch cannot do that."

"You're a witch!" he bellowed, making a young girl nearby flinch. She dumped the contents of her chamber pot on the ground and fled back inside of her home, pulling the door shut behind her with a bang.

"You're a witch," the man repeated, his pitch rising. "And you're a liar. I've seen you creeping out towards the mountain at night, chanting spells to curse us. You and your pointy ears should be burned alive!"

"Burned alive…" She sighed. "If I were truly a witch, I would escape the fire and turn you into a dragon just so I could watch this city's King put an arrow through you."

"You making fun of me?" He reached forward to grab her with one meaty hand.

In a fraction of a second, Tauriel rammed a fist into his stomach, then thrust the other to his nose. With her leg muscles straining in the cold, she sent one low kick into the back of his legs, followed by the threat of her knife to make him lose balance. He keeled over like a troll caught in a foot trap.

As he crashed onto the paved walkway, one grey-haired observer roared with laughter. Tauriel gave him brief glance as she massaged her calf muscles. Kicking with frozen legs had hurt. "Thank you, Bran. Kind of you to step in and help your fellow man not to make a fool of himself."

"Why would I want to help when I can sit back and watch an elf take down a man twice her size?" said the Captain of the Dale Guard. Bran was thin, having lost a lot of the muscle from his youth. His clothes hung off him like folds of skin.

She straightened up. "I will keep that in mind the next time I see you trying to keep the peace."

"Now, don't get snippy with an elder," he scolded, happily ignorant of the fact that she was older than he by at least a hundred years. "It's not my fault you prefer the Desolation of Smaug to your bed made of feather and cloth."

"I do not know what you mean," she lied.

"Yes, you do, but to show you that I am a kind old man and have no hard feelings, you can buy me breakfast," he decided. With a smug expression, he gestured in the direction of the heart of the city.

She sighed. "Very well, but I get to pick the breakfast. You'll pick something like spider legs."

He rubbed his stomach. "Roasted spider legs are nice and crispy after being fried. It's not my fault you have a weak stomach."

They both made their way to the food markets, a place as busy and disorganised as a new ants' nest. Tauriel approached a market table and raised an apple to her nose. It smelled of her old home. No apple would ever taste better than those from Mirkwood.

She picked half a dozen for herself and tossed one to Bran after she'd paid. "Now, out with it. Tell me what is bothering you."

"What do you mean?" He examined the fruit and took a loud crunching bite.

"I mean that you do not come to find me unless something is wrong, and I do not mean breakfast. Are the guards getting lazy again, or is there another new setback with the rebuilding of the homes?" The sooner she knew, the sooner she could get to work.

Though she had no official capacity in Dale, Tauriel worked with Bard and his men to rebuild Dale in exchange for food and lodgings. That covered everything from cleaning the soot off walls to showing Bran how to train and lead his men. When they weren't calling her a witch, some men were calling her a mercenary, though a true mercenary would be asking three times more than what she did.

"The King wants to see you. A royal visitor came through our gates this morning." said Bran. "A small one."

"Good morning," interrupted a strange man hauling a sack of potatoes nearby. He lifted the sack onto a makeshift stall table and let it drop with a thump. Lifting his hood, he gave Bran and Tauriel a tiny smirk in greeting.

Tauriel recognised the face and groaned inwardly. "Again?"

The man was Bard the Bowman, Dragon Slayer and King of Dale, disguised in his old peasant garb of beige and browns, and trading potatoes. He'd been disguising himself as a peasant a great deal since becoming King. The clothes allowed him to forgo the responsibilities he considered unimportant. Tauriel had yet to convince him otherwise.

"Your Highness." Bran bowed deeply, threatening to overbalance.

"None of that." Bard waved Bran's greeting away and scratched at the stubble on his chin. "Would you two be willing to discuss city matters with an ordinary man today? The King's rooms are stifling on a day like this."

Bran grumbled under his breath, but pulled up a couple of crates to the stall table nevertheless. No doubt he was feeling the cold as much as Tauriel was. Stifling would had been welcome, though she drew the line at being burned alive for fools.

"Are those apples from Greenwood Forest?" Bard asked, nodding to Tauriel's breakfast.

She tossed one into his waiting, calloused hands.

"It can only be Thranduil's." He confirmed, turning the fruit in his hands and tapping it with the pads of his fingers. "Strange, I now miss the simple work of smuggling his goods."

"Simple?" Tauriel snatched the apple back. "You had a dragon problem, remember? Besides, your free time would be better spent performing your duties as King."

Bard leaned closer. The smirk had reappeared in the corners of his dark eyes. "Tauriel."

"Yes?" She stopped waving the apple at him long enough to glare at him.

"You've got dirt on your face. Have you been sleepwalking again?"

Bran clicked his tongue.

Tauriel wiped at her face. Her hand came back grimy. "If you will not listen to me, Bard, then at least turn your thoughts to the visitor Bran tells me arrived this morning."

Bard inspected his potatoes. "Very well. You, Tauriel, not I, have a royal visitor from Under the Mountain to see you. I have put him in the one guest room that has a ceiling."

Her chest tightened. A visitor from Under the Mountain could only mean a dwarf. "To see me? Why not you? Is it not official business?"

"He says it is a personal matter. It is the dwarf named Fili. I believe you met him as I did when Lake-town was in its last days."

So, it was not just any dwarf that had come to see her. Fili was here in Dale. He had finally come to seek her out after the death of his brother. "I remember him."

"He arrived in ill temper and full of demands. The state of the room with one ceiling upset him, so I sent him to the kitchen. You should find him there still."

Tauriel gave him a blank look and turned away. She would meet her visitor armed. Fili could be here for anything: justice, revenge, answers she didn't have, or even for comfort. Grief was as unpredictable and painful as an elf falling in love with a dwarf, or at least she had found it to be that way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The Great Hall of Dale was a haunted mass of crumbled ruins, mould and unrepaired ceilings. Though Bard's people had managed to clear away a path through the rubble, it had been left alone until Dale had time to restore it. In the meantime, it continued to smell like a pile of rotting waste, and provided housing for the town's rats.

Tauriel made her way along the cleared path and reached the entrance to the northern part of what was once the King's residence. Most of the rooms there were found to be less damaged, and they had been turned into Bard's home for the time being. The back rooms housed his children: Bain, Sigrid and Tilda. The front rooms sheltered his best fighters and advisors, and sometimes the sick. The kitchen was downstairs.

The kitchen had once been the King's larder. It was found at the bottom of a winding staircase so steep that it had no doubt broken many necks in its time. The room itself was as cold as the water in an iced-over lake. Stocked shelves lined the outside of the room, and carcasses of slaughtered pigs hung from the ceiling, giving the place a cluttered and gloomy feel.

As promised, Tauriel found Fili at the kitchen's table. He had found a three-legged stool that lifted him high enough to reach the table's surface. It was a large carpenter's table with very little on it. A plate of food and a cup of wine was sitting in front of Fili, untouched. When she entered, he stopped breathing, and rested a hand on a hidden weapon inside his fur coat.

Tauriel regarded him, and the strained beating of her heart eased when she saw no visible reminder of his brother in his face. Blond hair and a beard framed Fili's pale round nose, which was as large as one of Bard's potatoes. Braids and beads fell in spirals, keeping his hair out of his eyes, and his mouth and round cheeks were made for smiling, though he was certainly not doing that at the sight of her.

She walked forward and gave him a slight nod in greeting. "You are not eating. Is the King's food not agreeable?"

He removed his hand from inside his coat, and exhaled a breath that turned into an icy mist. "I'm not blind. I see how slowly Dale is recovering. You need all the food you can get."

"Food goes off even in Dale." She emptied what was left of her apples on the table's surface. They tumbled across the table, picking up the dust. "And Dale recovers slowly because of its small numbers, not because it is poor. You should know that better than most. Eat. You must be starving."

Hesitating, he took a sip of the blood red wine and reached for an apple. "I'm not sure what I expected when I saw you again, but it wasn't this strange sort of pity."

Pity? She almost smiled at the assumption. "It is not pity to know that a dwarf would be hungry after travelling here."

"Ah, so you know all about dwarves now," he taunted. "I guess you consider yourself some kind of expert after knowing my brother that way."

She pulled the knife from her hip and admired the blade. "There's no need to insult my honour. If revenge is what you came for then I am ready when you are."

He looked like he was willing to fight, but then the anger in his eyes suddenly dimmed. "No. I didn't come for revenge. I came because of my mother."

She lowered the knife. "Your _mother_?"

He sipped from his wine cup. The drink reddened his lips. "Her name is Dís, formerly of Ered Luin. Kili's mother. She travelled to Erebor as soon as she got wind of the news about him. She has been having nightmares ever since she began sleeping Under the Mountain."

Tauriel frowned. Kili's mother was the first woman Kili had promised to return to after the Quest to Erebor. She must have suffered when she heard the news. "I'm sorry to hear of her pain."

"Are you? Because she's telling me that her nightmares have something to do with you."

That caught her off her guard. Not knowing what to say, she watched Fili and waited for him to explain further.

"Don't get the wrong idea," he said. "No one breathed a word of you to her, for her sake. She says she got your name from her nightmares. She says you're up to something unnatural. I'm here to keep you from doing it at all costs. Any idea what elf mischief that might be?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she muttered. She knew exactly what Dís had been talking about, but it shocked her to know that her efforts to reach the Great White above were not going unnoticed. Perhaps she was making better progress than she thought.

"All right." Her pale guest gave her a suspicious look. "Guess I'll have to stick by you and work it out for myself. This could be a miserable time for the both of us. Are you sure you don't just want to tell me?"

Tauriel shook her head. She would not be dissuaded from her journey, especially not by a superstitious dwarf. "I am sorry for your mother, but you are wasting your time here. There is nothing to work out."

He gave her a stern look. "You'll soon learn that my mother's sleep is very important to me. Very very important."

Tauriel kept silent. Kili's mother would understand if she really knew what Tauriel was up to. She was certain of it.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

I have lost my lovely beta reader to reality. Forging ahead alone.

 **Chapter 3**

The Great White above was thought to have a soothing influence on most its inhabitants, but Thorin's pessimism had somehow remained unaffected when he passed into the afterlife. Even now, with every comfort in the world at the tip of his fingers, Thorin was scowling as if he was standing in Mordor itself. His black beard and dark eyes matched his downturned mouth, transforming his entire face into a black storm cloud.

"Remember that this is no time to play the fool," he warned his nephew as they walked the halls of their forefathers. The dark spaces were as large and intimidating as the well-crafted Mines of Moria. "You have been granted only three days by our fathers gone to complete your task."

Kili, dressed in chain mail and a travel coat of blue, kneeled to the ground in front of his uncle and bowed his head. He understood why Thorin felt the need to warn him again before he left; he had a history of acting before thinking, and what he was about to do had not been done by any of his ancestors before. However, he was determined not to fail them.

"Three days," muttered Thorin. "Three days back in Middle Earth to help those you left too soon. Our ancestors didn't tell me much more. They won't even say who needs help, or what the price is that you must pay for such a journey. It is some childish riddle made to infuriate one."

Kili frowned. He had a clear idea on who needed the most help. He had only to think of those he had let down the most; the faces of loved ones that haunted him since he had died. He hadn't mentioned any of them to his uncle, of course. A dwarf who had reached his majority and died with honour did not say such things.

Thorin rubbed his chin with the back of his broad hand. "I can only hope that the Mountain is not under siege again, and that is why you are being sent. Fili was not ready for the throne when I last saw him. No, he was not."

Kili felt the familiar pang of fear within his heart at his uncle's words. Thorin's bluntness could cut a dwarf deep if they weren't ready to handle it, but a dwarf's bluntness was not the same as truth. Fili would be all right, Kili was sure of it. All those beloved faces would no longer haunt him once he came back from the dead to help them with what they needed.

Blowing out a stressed huff, Thorin helped Kili to his feet and clasped his hand in a firm grip. "Three days is nothing to us who have journeyed on, but do your duty. Return safe."

"Farewell, Thorin." Kili said. "I will do my duty, and I will see you soon with good tidings."

The tunnel filled with a fluid white mist. Thorin moved back and favoured Kili with a milder scowl. "Off you go then."

Kili turned and disappeared into the white mist created by the stars. Light carried him away from Thorin, away from the Great White to his destination, and he thought of nothing but seeing his loved ones on Middle Earth again.

Shadows stirred, and appeared in the mist. Then colours. Kili felt something strong pushing him down, faster and faster, until he finally smacked into the earth, hard.

"Argh!" He cried out, cursing under his breath soon after. The shock of the landing on his knees reverberated up the length of his legs. Legs. He had real legs again, with bones in them. He used them to slowly stand up.

A noise made him look around, and he took stock of his surroundings. It was day, noon, judging by the clouded position of the sun. The putrid smell of waste made his eyes water. He saw rubbish-filled streets above ground. No tunnels. No trees. Beings from the race of man walked past him with batting an eye.

The homes on the street he was standing in were in bad shape and undergoing repairs. There was freshly chopped wood, stone and paint strewn across the cobbled road before him. He watched one man sanding a new door for a nearby home, while a boy checked that the door frame's angles were level.

Where was he?

Moving his feet to higher ground, Kili searched hard for landmarks and soon spotted the familiar shape of the Lonely Mountain in the distance. Erebor. He would recognise its shape anywhere. It still loomed over its flat surroundings like a sleeping dragon. He was in Dale, not far from his kin.

Still stumbling towards the mountain, Kili took in the cold, harsh world around him. He inhaled deeply and coughed at the strange sensation of dust and cold air filling his lungs. It seemed the air on Middle Earth wasn't as clean as he remembered.

He paused near a small home and felt the rough texture beneath his fingers. If he pressed a little harder, it would cut him and draw blood. He hadn't seen blood since the day he died.

"Here you are." Hailed a soft flat voice.

"Here I am." Marvelled Kili. "As real as this stone."

"But more aware than stone, I hope."

He turned and reacted to a pair of forest green eyes. It was Tauriel, but not as he remembered her. Her blood red hair fell limp over her shoulders and down over her back. Too-thin white skin was dressed in black fighting gear, tunic and pants. A faint smudge of grime ran across her nose and high cheekbones, highlighting how thin and pale she was.

"Much more aware than stone," he finally said.

She tilted her head to one side, regarding him. "Are you all right? You look like you have seen a ghost."

Shocked, he reached out, took her hand, and frowned at how cold her fingers were. "You have changed a lot." He swallowed, feeling nervous. "But I am so...so lucky to see you again."

Her green eyes widened for a long moment. They dominated her narrow face like gems. "What new game is this?"

"No game," he assured her. "You are real and standing before me, which is all I could ask for. I'm here to help you."

She yanked her hand away, head turning to the people around them and then back to him. "Have you gone mad?"

He noticed a healing wound near her left ear, felt the urge to tend to it, and wondered if he had indeed gone mad. He took a step towards her, but she moved away, hair swaying with her movement.

He held up his hands to show he meant her no harm. "Tauriel, it's me. Don't be afraid." This was not going as he expected.

"Bard!" Her voice grew low and dangerous. "The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but I will strongly consider it if you do not stop what you are playing at and explain yourself.

"Bard?" He was taken aback. A faint memory of a Lake-town smuggler who had drowned him in fish came to mind, but what had he to do with anything? "I'm not Bard, I'm…" His throat caught. "I'm…"

He couldn't say it. "I am…" His tongue fumbled. He couldn't say his own name.

This was wrong. He was standing before her after so long, and she thought he was someone else, some man, Bard. "I'm…"

"Faltering under the responsibility of being King," Tauriel finished in a low voice, taking another step away from him.

"Tauriel." This could not be happening. Not over a name. "No. That is not it."

"It...it will be all right," she soothed, though he couldn't tell if she was soothing him or herself. She showed her hands as he had done. "I will do all I can to help you through this. Come, I will walk you to your rooms."

"This is going all wrong," he gasped. Was this how it would be? Was the price for his journey to return as someone else? How could he help his kin in three days if they only saw a man of Dale?

"Come. Rest will do your mind good," she coaxed.

Kili shook his head and tried not to panic. Kili; that was his name, not Bard. "This is no time for me to rest. I have work to do."

"You are not yourself," she argued. "I thought you were shirking your responsibilities, but it seems you were struggling with more than I thought. I fear I have been too hard on you."

"You have not, but they have. My forefathers!" he clarified, pointing to his ancestors the sky defiantly. If the price of returning to Middle Earth was not being seen by anyone, then the price was too steep.

She came closer. "I beg you. Come and rest."

The familiar perfume of pine needles reached him, and he closed his eyes as his heart ached. Tauriel did not recognise him. The last thing he needed was rest. Still, something needed to be salvaged from the situation. "Are you coming along to tuck me in?"

She stiffened and gave him a long look.

He shrugged. "I'm joking. I'm just hoping for a smile."

Tauriel didn't smile. Instead, she peered into his eyes. "It is almost as if you have been possessed by a spirit. A mischievous one."

"That's because I'm..." He tried to force his name out again. Nothing.

A dwarf's angry cry came from the top of the road, making them both flinch. Tauriel moved to Kili's side and rested her hand on a knife at her hip. Fili strode towards them, axe in hand, and keeping his furious gaze locked on Tauriel. Kili felt his heart soar.

Fili looked well, if somewhat pale, and a little thin. There were a few new spiralling braids and bland clothes, but otherwise Fili looked just the same.

"There you are! Thought you could slip away from me?" Fili taunted, glaring at Tauriel.

"Fili." Kili slapped Fili on the shoulder, drawing a strange look from him. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you. What are you doing here? Don't you have a mountain to rule?"

As he gestured to Erebor in the distance, Fili's face suddenly fell, and with a sinking heart Kili knew that all was not well with his brother. "You don't rule the Mountain?"

With a confused glance at Tauriel, Fili cleared his throat. "I thought Dale's King already knew."

Kili frowned, dreading what Fili would say next. "Knew what?"

Fili cleared his throat again. "I am not yet King Under the Mountain. Dáin is acting as Steward for now, until I'm prepared to rule."

Kili took a deep breath and tried to block out Thorin's blunt words from earlier. "But you're prepared now." He pointed out. "Right, Fili?"

Tauriel shook her head. "Bard, you of all people should be able to understand his decision."

"I'm not Bard! I'm…" Kili struggled to get his name out.

Fili narrowed his eyes. "Are you all right?"

"The King is not well," answered Tauriel, stepping in. "He needs to rest."

Fili gave her a sharp look. "Does his illness have anything to do with elf mischief?"

Tauriel's expression turned lethal. "When I cut your nose off, you can call that elf mischief."

Upset, Kili moved in and poked his brother's chest to get his attention. "Fili, you still haven't explained to me why you aren't already King. Why? What am I going to tell Thorin when I go back?"

At the mention of their uncle, Fili froze. His lips thinned and his face paled.

Before Kili could say anything further, slender fingers touched the side of his neck and pressed into the tendons. He felt a tingling in his hands and blacked out, unable to think or speak anymore, though the smell of pine needles lingered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

With Bran's help, Tauriel and Fili half-dragged half-carried the unconscious Bard to his bed. Tauriel checked in on the other rooms, and was glad to find that his three children were absent. She didn't want them there when he woke up in case he said something disturbing.

"Will he be all right?" asked Fili. "He was raving like a _madman_. Does he have a fever?"

"He has no fever." Tauriel assured. She ran a hand over Bard's face to feel for dark magic, and frowned to find no trace of it on him. If it wasn't dark magic, then what was it? "I cannot find anything unusual about him."

Fili rubbed his cheek. "Why was he talking about Thorin like that. He barely knew him."

"I do not know." Tauriel pulled some dried leaves from her pocket, hand-crushed them and let them fall on Bard's chest. Their strong perfume would do little but help clear the head, but it was better than nothing. "I cannot help him if I do not know what is wrong."

Fili stared down at the sleeping man's form and shook his head. "I see by his clothes that the rumours are true. Does he really disguise himself because he does not want to be King?"

She paused, and decided to tell him a little. "He struggles with the responsibility, the same as you. It was only today that he…" She gestured to the bed, lost for words.

Fili shook his head. "You know for a moment there, he reminded me a lot of someone else."

"Don't be foolish." Tauriel snapped, and realised she was overreacting. She took a deep breath and pushed the irritation down, down where the grief and the other dark feelings were.

Fili stared at her for a long moment. "Is that why you're here in Dale, and not with your own kind. Does this man remind you of my brother?"

"No." And it was true. Kili was nothing like the quiet and reserved Bard. That was, until today when he'd lost his mind.

He watched her with narrowed eyes. "I know you're up to something."

She sighed. "Stay then and waste your time in Dale. Perhaps Bard will benefit from your company when he wakes up. For now, I ask that you only keep watch for his children. If he wakes up unwell, his words may frighten them."

"Ah." Fili frowned. "I remember them. I will watch out for them."

Tauriel nodded curtly and turned back to Bard. Fili went to wait outside and closed the door behind him. For the next hour or so, Bard slept soundly, and Tauriel tried to think of different remedies she could try to help him when he awoke.

However, her night out in the cold began to take its toll. Tauriel fought to stay awake but felt her eyes closing against her will. She tried to focus on recalling a remedy she had read in a book once, but her thoughts almost irresistibly turned to nothing.

She hadn't planned it, but she fell asleep and dreamed of the forest. Her forest. It was the one she dreamed of every time she went to find Kili in her sleep. She had been spending nights climbing up its rough-barked trees, trying to reach the stars and the Great White above that had claimed him, trying to get him back.

However, every time she neared the top of the trees, a powerful evil being would come to fight her. They would battle until one of them lost, and it was always her. It would push her or knock her off balance, and she would fall, hitting branches along the way and crashing to the ground. Her eyes would open, and she would find herself back in the real world, in the Desolation of Smaug.

She gazed up at the trees and then shook her head. She wouldn't climb them this time. Something was wrong with Bard, and she didn't think he should be left alone for long. Besides, climbing the trees was best done at night, when her sleepwalking form was less likely to disturb the citizens of Dale, and less likely to be noticed by Fili.

Running her hand over the rough base of one tree, she bid the forest farewell and tried to focus on waking up.

"Tauriel?"

She turned and saw Kili standing amongst the trees, as if he'd always been there. Relaxed and dressed in polished chain mail and a clean blue coat, he looked out of place in the murky woods. He gave the trees a curious glance and then smiled at her. The smile was one she well remembered, and she felt her heart squeeze.

"Kili." She heard herself say. Even though she knew it was a dream, that he couldn't really be there, her throat grew dry and her eyes began to well with tears as if he was. She went to him, drinking in the familiar kinks in his dark hair, the long nose that suited him so well, and the way his eyes smiled along with his mouth.

"You can see me? You know who I am?" he asked, looking both disbelieving and on the verge of tears himself.

"I see you. I know you," she assured him, her voice shaking. "Is it really you?"

He reached for her hand, and then hesitated. "Can I?"

In answer, she reached for him, touching his shoulder first and them pulling him against her tightly. It felt good, the way his body pressed against her, how his hair tickled her lips and nose, the way his hands moved across her back. He smelled of earth and fire, and she wept, remembering the same smell from the day he'd died. The illusion was too intense.

As if aware of her thoughts, he pulled back, just enough to reach up with one hand, and urged her head down further. He pushed his warm lips against hers, fingers running from the back of her neck to her jaw. His mouth moved to caress hers, and she felt her whole body come alive from within. He felt incredibly real to her, and she drank him in with all her senses.

When the kiss ended, he pressed a lighter kiss to her mouth and then drew away, choosing to take her hands in his. His eyes were dark with desire, and she fought the urge to make them turn darker.

"I wanted to tell you that I finally walked among the stars," he said, touching her hair reverently. "Seeing their marks and patterns up close taught me a few things about beauty, about you."

She touched his face, caressing the lines of his jaw with her fingers. "Did they?"

"I learned from them that I didn't look at you closely enough when I was alive."

She smirked at the unintended insult. "Oh, no? Thought you could have done better?"

He smirked and shook his head. "After I died, I realised I could only remember a shadow of you. I couldn't think of your marks and patterns, and it bothered me. I kept wishing for a chance to see you again so that I could memorise them, so I could memorise you properly."

She watched as he caressed her hand and turned it over to inspect her callouses and scars from countless skirmishes and battles, then kissed them. She watched him, unable to believe how warm his touch felt. Was this really a dream?

"I wanted to tell you something I learned too," she heard herself saying. "The day you died for me, I thought something had torn my heart out of my chest."

His face fell, but she shook her head and smiled at him. "At first I didn't want it. It hurt so much. Then someone told me what I was feeling."

He waited in silence as she took a breath and tried to finish what she wanted to say. "Kili, when they came to take your body, I decided I would find you again and bring you back, no matter what it took. Now that I have you here, I cannot believe such a thing would happen again. I would bring you back. Now."

"I'm already here," he assured her. His eyes ran over her face. "Wake up and you'll see me. You have to see me, Tauriel. I don't have much time."

"See you? I do not understand." She blinked, and then suddenly, Kili was gone.

No.

How could he disappear so fast? He did not even get a chance to explain what he meant.

"Kili," she called uselessly into the forest, feeling her grief welling up from its reservoir deep inside of her. She tracked him through the forest even though she knew it was pointless. "I will find you again."

No one answered. She tracked and tracked even though there was nothing to find. After a while, she forced herself to stop looking for footprints and crouched down amongst the fallen leaves and damp earth, trying to pull herself together. Kili was gone, but there was hope in his last words, and she just had shared the happiest of moments with him. Her hand went to her lips. There was hope, she just had to hold on to it and not fall apart.

Something touched her arm and she looked down.

Something long, black and twisted snatched her up and hauled her off the ground as if she had the weight of a bird. It had the strength and flexibility of a tree root and nearly crushed the life out of her as she was hauled up into the air. Its thorns were puncturing bloody holes into her skin and clothes.

"No!" she cried out in rage. It was the same formless evil that fought her and forced her off the tree tops time and time again. It must have crept up on her while she had been distracted.

Distracted by losing Kili.

Kicking out with her legs and punching with her elbows and fists, she writhed relentlessly to get some space between its tough body and the knife at her belt. She would stab the filthy thing until it stopped moving, until its limbs stopped twitching. Longer than that if she had to. It would not escape this time.

Its black arm came out and backhanded her across the face, and she felt nothing but raw shuddering pain as the thing let her drop to the ground like a dead thing. Her head spun and her back hit something hard, making her lose some feeling in her right arm. Her vision blurred. She closed her eyes and flexed her jaw, preparing to launch herself on the creature, knife in left hand, as planned.

"Wake up, Tauriel," a voice growled. "Wake up!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Tauriel awoke with a gasp. Something touched her back as she rose, and she grabbed it and thrust it away from her before fishing for her knife. She must have dropped it somewhere. It had been in her left hand only a moment ago.

"Tauriel." Fili came into view, kneeled beside her and gave her a quick shake of a shoulder. "Are you awake now?"

She blinked, looked around and saw the familiar surroundings of Bard's northern residence in Dale. She was sprawled on its dirty cold floor. "Yes."

At least she wasn't in the Desolation of Smaug.

"You were in some kind of trance," said Fili. "You walked out of Bard's room as if you were going tracking with your eyes closed."

She rubbed her face. It was still sore where the creature had hit her, but her nose wasn't broken, and her arms weren't scratched and bleeding like they had been in the dream. That would have been hard to explain. "Did I hurt you while I was asleep?"

"No, though you were fighting something when I tried to wake you." He frowned. "Want to tell me what that was?"

"Dreams of battles gone," she said quickly, avoiding his eyes. The less he knew about what she was doing, the better.

"I hear footsteps. Bard is awake and looking for us, it seems," she announced, her keen ears picking up Bard's hurried steps from a distance.

Fili narrowed his eyes at her, but he kept silent as they rose and walked in the direction of Bard's room.

It didn't take long for him to find them. He ran into them at the end of a long corridor, looking dishevelled from his forced nap. He halted at the sight of them and relaxed visibly, sighing and resting one hand on the wall as if he'd been running. "I heard fighting."

"It was nothing," said Tauriel. She was a terrible liar, and yet she found herself doing it more and more lately.

"So she claims," muttered Fili, giving her another suspicious look before turning back to Bard. "And, er, how are you? Are you, uh, all right?"

"I'm as well as I can be," said Bard. His gaze locked on Tauriel. "I would be better if someone hadn't forced me to sleep."

"You were not yourself and you needed rest," she argued, rubbing her face again to ease the phantom injuries from her dream. "I would not have done it if I were not concerned for you."

A shadow fell over her, and she looked up. Slowly, Bard drew closer to her, and bent over a little to meet her eyes. The move was so unusual for him that she leaned away on instinct. Even then, he was still too close for comfort.

"Tauriel, this man, Bard, is not here right now," he said in a firm voice. "See me. I don't have much time left with you."

"See you?" she began, froze and gave him a long look. The face was Bard's, there was no doubt of that, but those were Kili's strange words from her dream. How could he know those words? Had he somehow managed to end up in her dream? Had he overheard it?

Fili shifted behind her. "I don't understand. Is this some strange lover's-speak, or is he still unwell?"

She narrowed her eyes at Bard, and then shook her head. "He must still be unwell."

To her surprise, the desperation grew a little in Bard's eyes and she leaned back further. "I am not unwell and I am not Bard. I don't know how it happened, but I was in that forest with you. Tauriel, look at me!"

He didn't touch her, but she could tell that he wanted to, badly. He was still too close to her and his gaze was too clear to be dismissed as madness, and suddenly she was confronted with the truth.

Somehow, impossibly, she knew that she was not looking at Bard. No, not Bard. She was looking at Kili. He was in Bard's body, pleading with them using Kili's expressive eyes. It didn't make sense, but at the same time, nothing else did.

"See me," he implored.

"Kili?" she whispered, focusing on his eyes. They widened at the name.

She gasped.

"Can you see me now?"

She tried to deny it, and found she couldn't. "I can."

Fili moved in to step beside her. "I don't know what's going on here, but this whole exchange doesn't sit right with me. Whoever you are, if you're hoping to pass your dark madness onto her, then rethink it now. Be gone from the King's body."

Tauriel watched as Kili gaped and then smiled at his brother. "I swear I would never harm her, or you, Fili. You are everything to me."

Tauriel muttered something in elvish to no one in particular. She wanted to walk away and think, lie down, have a real sleep even, but there were responsibilities and a town and monsters and Bard's children to think about. And there was Kili before her. And where was Bard?

Suddenly, she couldn't tell which way was up, and the floor shot up to meet her. A man's arms caught her from behind and was now holding her up. She realised with growing anger at herself that she had almost fainted, like some simpering elvish maiden. At a time like this, she had almost dared to faint.

"I've got you." Bard…Kili said in her ear. He draped her arm around the back of his neck, Bard's neck, and then looked like he was considering the logistics of lifting and carrying her in his arms.

"No." She refused to be carried. She had humiliated herself enough for one day. First the creature had nearly killed her and now this. "Help me walk like this. I'm just tired."

Kili looked doubtful, but let her have her way. His free hand instead went to her waist, and she stiffened a little at his touch.

He dropped his hand, looking concerned, and she flushed, embarrassed. She chose to say nothing as he shifted his position so that she could put her full weight on his shoulders using her arm.

As they walked down the hall together, with Fili following close behind like a menacing guard, she turned to look up at him and tried using his name again. "Kili?"

" _Kili?_ " Repeated Fili. "Great. You've both gone mad."

Kili smiled a little at his brother and looked down at her. "I'm glad you see me. He might take a little longer."

She shook her head. "If it wasn't for the dream…"

He nodded. "I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found you in that dream. Three days is not much time to convince someone that you're not who they think you are. And that dream was, creepy forest to one side, the _best_ one I've ever had."

She stared at him for a long moment, letting it all sink in. Kili had returned. He was not lost. He was standing in front of her. She smiled.

He smiled back at her, using Bard's face. Her smile faded as she realised Bard was still significantly absent from his body.

"Kili, what happened?" she asked. "Where is Bard? Is he in danger?"

He helped her walk a few more steps before he answered. "I don't think so, though Bard's not in here with me, at least not that I can tell or feel. I don't know where he's gone."

Tauriel lifted a hand to her head and tried not to panic. "I wonder if any of this is my fault."

Kili tugged at her. "I was the one sent down. How can this be your fault?"

She shook her head, trying to think of how to explain, and looked down at his hand hovering near her waist. Bard's hand.

"Kili." She halted their progress, pulled away from him completely and gave him a firm look. "I think you must have possessed Bard. If that is what has happened, then we must respect him as if he is here with us. He could be awake for every moment that you are here."

Kili nodded slowly, examining Bard's hands with confusion. "I think I understand. I promise I didn't _mean_ to possess him. I thought I was coming back to Middle Earth in my own body, and that I would be able to use my own name. Thorin thought so too. I'm sure he did, or he would have warned me."

Behind them, Fili paled at the mention of his uncle. He looked like he was going to be sick.

Feeling unexpectedly sorry for him, Tauriel tried to help him understand. "Fili, your brother has somehow found his way into Bard's body. Kili is standing here, with us. He has possessed Bard."

Fili's hands folded across his chest and he shook his head. "No. This is some cruel madness you two are in on together. End it, or I'll send for Gandalf and have him deal with you."

Kili frowned. "You would not be my brother if you didn't need proof for this. If only there was more time."

Tauriel sighed. "I will make a tonic for us all to help us manage this news. I was going to make it for Bard when he awoke, but Bard is not...here."

"No tonic," argued Fili. "But if you are returning to that poor excuse for a king's larder, I won't object to pouring myself a tankard of your dwarvish medicine. That will do fine."

Assuming he meant the wine, Tauriel led the way to the kitchen. Kili kept close to her, no doubt in case she nearly fainted again. How shameful to have had that happen around him. Still, she was privately relieved to be able to glance at him whenever she wanted, to reassure herself that he was still there in Bard's body.

"Can you tell me what you know?" she asked him. "About why you are here, I mean."

In a quiet voice, he told her and Fili about the task set by his forefathers. Three days to help those who had lost him too soon, and a price to travel to journey here and back. She dreaded to think what price he would have to pay for such a journey.

On hearing the full account, Tauriel felt more determined than ever to climb up to the Great White and get him back. Permanently. If Kili's patriarchal ancestors thought that anyone who loved him would be content with Bard and Kili's spirit being caught up in a brief three days of dangerous possession, they'd be thinking differently very soon.

"Tauriel, have I made things worse by coming back?" he asked, drawing her attention back to his eyes.

She shook her head. "No." And it was true. Words couldn't describe how it felt to have him back again, even in this unexpected way. She would take all of it.

However, she worried that she was the one responsible for Kili's current situation. The thought bothered her greatly.

The dark creature in her dreams was there to stop her going to the Great White at every turn. It was possible that it was behind all of this. How or why, she didn't know, but something told her not to ignore it.

Tauriel glanced over her shoulder and caught Fili staring at the possessed King. He wasn't watching where he was going, clearly too busy puzzling over their words. At least he was considering what they had to say; that was a good sign.

She turned back to Kili just as they reached a set of stairs, and caught him reaching for her hand to steady her. They stared at each other, and a small part of her wanted him to take it. In the end however, he dropped his arm, looking as confused as she felt.

Kili shifted awkwardly and tried a brilliant smile that was his alone. "So, does this King have clean clothes that I can wear? I've just realised that I'm wearing rags."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** Wow. It's lonely in here. I guess I'm marketing wrong or doing this fic all wrong or something. Still, I'm enjoying writing and publishing. To the silent readers, I hope you enjoy this update: a classic Tim Burton dining scene.

 **Chapter 6**

After dressing in a clean shirt and a new silver coat that had yet to be worn by its owner, the King of Dale, Kili stepped out of Bard's rooms feeling a bit better, even if he wasn't in his own body. Tauriel arched one brow at the coat, but said nothing as she led the way down to the kitchen. He kept close to her in case she grew dizzy again.

Kili frowned. She was so pale, so thin. It was no surprise that she had blacked out when she'd found out that not only was he back from the dead, but he was in Bard's body. Still, it was better than Fili's reaction.

His brother, Fili, was now sitting at the kitchen table on a stool that made him seem as tall as a man. He folded his arms as Tauriel and Kili approached the table, and then narrowed his eyes unknowingly at his brother.

Kili smiled back and then realised that Fili wasn't the only one in the room staring at him. Three pairs of eyes belonging to three children watched him from their seats. Their appearance was vaguely familiar to him.

The eldest of the three, a young woman, rose from her seat and approached him to inspect the coat he was wearing. "You look nice, Da. Didn't think you'd ever wear the fancy clothes the tailor made for you."

Kili blinked, and remembered that this young woman, the boy and the little girl were all Bard's children. They had all helped take care of him when he had taken ill in Lake-town. He gave the eldest a small smile.

"Glad you're finally trying to look like a King," she added. "Maybe now Bain and Tilda will start to act like King's children and remember their manners at table."

"That's not true, Sigrid!" protested Tilda, waving a dagger in the air.

"Table manners are _pointless_ ," Bain groaned. "We never needed them in Lake-town, so why do we need them now? I'm right, aren't I, Da?"

 _Da?_ Kili looked from one young expectant face to another, and tried not to panic.

Tauriel gently pried the dagger off of Tilda. "Go easy on him. He has not been well today."

"Not well?" said Sigrid, looking worried. "Why? What happened?"

Bain pointed at Fili. "He knows. Da, Fili said that you're not right in the head."

Tauriel narrowed her eyes at Fili, he gave her a shrug in return. "I didn't know what to tell them. He's been acting strange all day, and now you are…" He grew silent as Tauriel's expression grew dangerous.

Kili snorted at his brother. "He's the one disrespecting the dead."

Fili glowered at him. "I see someone is still itching for a fight."

"No one is fighting anyone," ordered Sigrid. "We're all going to sit at this table nice-like and finish dinner."

"Hear that, Fili? You'd better be nice to your hosts," Kili teased.

Sigrid blinked at him and shook her head. "You're acting very strange, Da."

Kili nodded absently and gestured for her return to her meal. He took a seat in between Tilda and his brother. "I am not myself. I hope you can understand and wait while I work this out."

"You're being very mysterious," said Sigrid, settling herself between Bain and Tauriel on the other side of the table. "I don't suppose you're going to tell us what you're up to now?"

Tauriel gave a worried look at her empty plate. "We don't know."

"But we'll work it out." Kili gave her a reassuring wink. Tauriel smiled a little.

Inspired by that smile, Kili picked up a carving fork, reached for a plate near Tilda, and began to push lettuce leaves on the two prongs. The leaves were folded and arranged to form a small flower, which he topped with a piece of radish, the centre of the flower, to hold it all in place.

"For you," he said, handing the flower to Tauriel.

Her smile widened at the green petals and she took the fork. She was more beautiful when she was happy.

"No," said Fili. His eyes were fixed on the edible flower. "That is not possible."

"What's not possible?" asked Bain, glancing from one adult to another.

Tilda stared at the flower. "Can I have one?"

Kili gave his brother a knowing look, reached for a piece of radish and a knife, and began to peel and slice it. He did it just as his older brother had done it for him when they were young.

Fili turned to look at Tauriel. "No." It was more a question than a statement.

Tauriel gave him a long look. "Yes."

"How?" he demanded.

"We don't know," she said gently.

"What's going on?" demanded Bain. "I'm not a child. I can help."

"I'm not a child either," Tilda claimed.

Kili finished making his radish flower and held it out to Tilda. She smiled at the white petals tipped with red took a bite from it.

Kili leaned back, and was attacked by a pair of strong dwarf's arms. They wrapped around his shoulders and squeezed and crushed him in their embrace. Tilda giggled as Kili gasped.

"Ow! Fili! Take it easy, I'm not sure what this body can take."

Fili eased up on the grip a tiny bit, and then sobbed into Kili's back. "Why didn't you try harder to convince me?"

"There, there," Kili soothed, unable to move. "I tried to, but it hasn't been easy for me. They wouldn't even let me use my name."

"Who? Tell me who and I'll kill them."

"You know, them, the family." Kili pointed up to the sky hoping Fili would understand he was talking about their forefathers. He didn't want to scare Bard's children with talk of dead men and the afterlife.

Sigrid shook her head and folded her arms. "Da, I realise you have a secret, but at least tell me why a dwarf is crying over you."

Locked in Fili's tight embrace, Kili couldn't think of a good answer. He could feel the back of Bard's new coat getting wet.

Tauriel put down her flower. "They remembered that they were old friends from a long time ago."

Kili pointed at Tauriel in gratitude. "Yes, that's it!"

She smiled. "More than old friends, brothers of a sort, perhaps. If you'll excuse me, I believe I can hear Bran's loud feet searching for me upstairs."

Sigrid watched Tauriel disappear and then looked back at Kili. "A radish flower and a crying dwarf. Da, really? Might as well give up on her now."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Tauriel found Bran in the Great Hall. He frowned in disapproval at the sight of her and gestured for her to follow him to the weapons room.

"Where have you been all day?" he reprimanded. "I expected to see you after your visit with the dwarf. Did things not go well?"

"Much has happened since then." Tauriel tried to decide how much to tell him. "The King is not…well."

His frown deepened. "Is it serious?"

"No, but he won't be able to do any of his duties for a short time. You will have to help him."

"Me?" Bran's eyes widened. "You mean 'we'. I can't do this on my own. Spiders have already been sighted in the south and the sun has barely set. You expect me to kill them all while holding the King up?"

Tauriel followed him into the weapons room. "I am an elf; I cannot be seen to be leaning over the shoulder of your King. You know this already. I will take out a hunting party and kill the spiders." She paused and looked around the room for a strong bow. "Do any of the men require discipline today?"

"One. Sleeping while on guard duty. Want him for your hunting patrol?"

"Yes." She reached for a strung bow hanging above Bran's head and tested the tension. "He needs to remember why he is protecting his people."

Bran nodded. "These are dark times. Those who are not aware of it may harm us all."

Tauriel silently agreed. Along with the sleeper, she went to the barracks and selected another four men to help hunt and kill the spiders that crossed from the east to the shadows of Mirkwood. Out in the open, the monsters were easy targets, but they were becoming bolder, and less concerned about travelling around Dale as time went by.

She hoped her kin in Greenwood were aware of the change, and she hoped Legolas was safe, wherever he was. He had been wise to leave her side, but she worried about him daily. He was the closest thing she had to a family.

The next few hours did not pass without a great deal of sweat and blood being shed. In the early hours of the morning, she finally led the men, slightly worse for wear, back through the gates of Dale after a successful hunt. All of them carried twisted spider legs on their belts and across their backs.

These foul hairy limbs were kept as trophies for mantles, or brandished for storytelling, or even roasted for supper. Tauriel shuddered. She had offered the legs from her kills to the best hunter as a reward. She had never and would never consider spider legs as something to keep or eat.

After shedding her weapons and gear, she was safely able to turn her thoughts back to Kili. He and Fili were reunited, and he had handled Bard's children well, but what of his task? Who did he need to help? Would he and Fili need to travel to Erebor to complete it?

Panic squeezed her at the last thought, and Tauriel gave herself a mental shake. Even if he did have to go to Erebor, he would not leave without saying goodbye. She was just feeling raw after a long eventful day. She should go to her room and rest, but she knew that she wouldn't sleep unless she checked on Kili.

She found him lingering in the kitchen, humming a song about things that Bilbo Baggins hated and washing the dinner's dishes in a basin. Fili had fallen asleep at the table, his head resting on one arm. The blond dwarf didn't stir as Tauriel crept over to join Kili.

He brightened when he saw her, eyes shining with the effect of too much wine. "Fili wanted to celebrate our reunion by drinking me under the table," he whispered. "But this man's tolerance for drink seems to be better than a dwarf's."

"It is?" Tauriel observed his unsteady footing with amusement as he turned back to the basin and looked for his wash rag. She pointed it out to him and then reached for a towel to dry the dishes with. "I would not have bet on a man winning a drinking competition against a dwarf."

"Neither would I." He smiled. "Perhaps this man is unusual."

"He is," she confirmed. "He killed a dragon with the help of his son, and he is now a King only because his people willed it. He does not have the desire to lead like some."

Kili frowned. "He is like Fili."

"Yes." She looked over at Fili sleeping. "They are alike. Something holds them back from ruling."

"I need to find out what holds Fili back," said Kili. "I think I was sent here to help him."

"Did you talk to him? Does he understand all now?"

"He does." Kili passed her a washed cup without incident. "But he found it hard to hear about Thorin."

"Poor Fili." She dried the cup. "And you? Are you all right?"

He snorted. "I'm fine. I'm the one that's dead, and the dead don't have any problems. You living ones, I don't envy any of you one bit."

She stopped drying and gave him a long searing look. He turned sheepish and looked down at the wash basin. It was amazing how expressive Bard's face had become now that Kili had control of it.

"I'm not great," he finally admitted. "No dwarf has ever returned to Middle Earth before like this, and I'm afraid of failing my task and dishonouring my kin. I'm in a man's body that I have no right being in, Fili is not the King, and you are…"

She met his gaze. "Yes?"

"You are..." He cleared his throat. "Are you all right?"

"I am well." Tauriel stretched her sore neck and gave him a small smile. "The world now has a few less foul creatures in it, and you are here."

He searched her face. "So that's what you were doing all night. Fili was suspicious about where you had gone to. He…told me about my mother's nightmares." His eyes met hers. "Then he told me that you were involved with them."

"I see." Tauriel leaned her hands on the table.

He gave her a gentle nudge with Bard's elbow. "Come on. Tell me."

"I do not know how to tell you." She frowned. "It was only this morning that I was conceited enough to think your mother would understand if she knew what I was doing. Now, facing you, I am ashamed to have thought such a thing."

"Is it something dangerous?"

"Yes." She exhaled. "In short, it is as I told you in our shared dream. I have been trying to find you, so that I can bring you back to life."

He stood still. "I think the drink is affecting me after all. Did you just say that you've been trying to find me? As in going into the world of the dead to find me?"

She nodded. "Trying and failing. There is no forest to climb up in Dale, no sacred trees and no sea, but it is as close to you as an elf can get to your final resting place in Erebor. I created a forest of my own in my dreams and when I can, I climb the trees to try and find you."

"The creepy forest that looks like Mirkwood," he murmured. "You made that?"

"Yes. The trees take me up into the stars and lead further up into the Great White above, but I never get that far. Something always fights me, defeats me and pushes me back down to Middle Earth. I think my failed attempts are what your mother dreams about."

Kili said nothing for a while. When she dared to look up, he had made Bard's face go pale as snow. She hung her head guiltily.

"I know I died seasons ago," he wondered. "But all this time you have been trying to find me? How would you have found me in the Great White? It's enormous. And how would you have brought me back from the dead?"

She pursed her lips before she spoke. "I do not know. I was not taught such things by my kin, only that they were possible for those who are my betters. I had hope because of that."

"Tauriel." Kili reached for her hand, and then slowly withdrew it.

"I do not know how I would have done it," she insisted in a low voice, ashamed to reveal this much of herself and her thoughtlessness to him. "But I would have. I should not have been able to create a forest to reach the Great White on my own, and I did."

Kili leaned on the table beside her. "If you can do it, what does that mean?"

"It means that I am breaking the laws of my kin. That your possession of Bard may be a punishment for my meddling."

"And this is why you think me possessing Bard is your fault?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"You're wrong," he stated, confident. "I was sent down by my fathers to help those affected by my death, not as a punishment. I think I'm here to fix something that went wrong because of when I died. Maybe I need Bard's body to do it."

Silence reigned as Tauriel considered his words. It was possible he was right. His death had always felt so unjustifiably wrong to her. She had felt it deep in the pit of her stomach.

"I want to talk more with you," Kili said. "But I can see that you need rest. Proper rest. The kind without strange dreams. Tomorrow, I'm afraid I need to ask for your help to get to Erebor."

She tamped down again on the panic building up inside her. "I understand. But you should not wait until tomorrow. You should leave now. Tonight. If you do not, you may run out of time to complete your task."

"Tonight? But you're exhausted."

"I cannot go with you," she reasoned. "Until Bard returns, there is no King of Dale, and Bran will want to accompany you because he does not know the truth."

"Bran?"

Tauriel nodded. "He is Dale's Captain of the Guard. He will need to remain by your side. I must stay here to protect Bard's family and his people."

"You misunderstand me. I believe my duties are here in Dale, and I plan to stay here to see them through."

She frowned, puzzled. "Then how to you plan to get to Erebor?"

He bent down and forced her to look at him. "You created a forest that led to the Great White in your dreams, I was thinking that you might be able to do the same for Erebor, so I can see my family."

She blinked. "You want me to take you to Erebor in a dream?"

His gaze turned pleading. "I wouldn't normally ask this of you, but I can't be this close to them and not check that they're well."

She reached for his hand, and settled for resting her fingers beside his on the table's surface. "It could be dangerous. You would be better off going to Erebor on foot."

"You are crazy if you think I would leave you with so little time left," he said in a low voice.

Touched by his words, she cleared her throat. "Then, we should both get some rest. Look for me in your dreams as you did before, and I will find you."

His eyes ran over her face. "You are so tired."

The corner of her mouth lifted. "Until I am possessed by Thorin or another one of your kin, it is my body and I choose what I would do with it. Go and rest in Bard's bed, but dress for travel, you may not wake up where you think."

His eyes lit up with mischief. "Is that a promise?"

Tauriel tried to look unamused, and failed.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

After looking in on Sigrid and the children, Tauriel washed herself using the basin in her room, treated her cuts from hunting the spiders, and changed into fresh clothes and gear. Her boots were hard to get back on, but she managed with both hands. Sighing, she lay back on her bed and reached for two of the three daggers hidden under her pillow for safekeeping.

The daggers went under her belt at her hip. The cool handles rested comfortingly against her skin. She would much rather wear something else to visit Kili in her dreams, perhaps even brush her hair, but there was no time for those things. There was no time for anything but to keep Dale running and to help Kili complete his task.

Later, when she knew she had him back permanently, she would consider such things as looking nice for him.

Tauriel closed her eyes and focussed on the black. She needed to create a new path. One that led to Erebor. The pull of Kili's tomb would provide a tether. She could already see the black room in her mind's eye as if she were locked in there.

But the trees in her forest would not want to go underground. They were drawn to the light. She needed something else with life in it to get them there.

Dale's water came from the mountain. It bubbled and rushed downhill, full of energy. She just needed it to go in the opposite direction. And a boat, they would need a boat lighter than air to take him, something like dry leaves.

Brown autumn leaves rained down around her, and she whispered to them in elvish, asking them to change their shape. They needed to carry a spirit safely to visit his loved ones Under the Mountain.

She opened her eyes, and saw small rapids. The water was rushing downhill, but the mist rose and travelled uphill. On a bank of black soil was the flimsiest boat she had ever seen. The sun's rays shone through it, highlighting the venation on the leaves.

"I hope that won't sink when it gets wet," said Kili, coming to stand beside her as if he'd been there all along.

Tauriel glanced at him and felt all the air leave her chest at once. He was back once again in his own body, wearing his own clothes and weapons. He looked at her with his dark eyes and she tensed up.

"Kili, where is Bard's body?" she demanded. She was overreacting again, but there had been one too many surprises for one day.

Kili looked down at his hands and body and groaned in pleasure. "Not here. What a relief! I don't know how he walks on those long skinny legs all day."

"I do not understand this at all." She rubbed her forehead. "But we can only do one thing at a time, I suppose. Erebor first."

Kili turned and stared at the Mountain in the distance. "I can't believe you made all this. It's incredible."

She couldn't believe it either, and it frightened her that she had the power to do it. Silvan elves weren't supposed to be able to do such things.

"We should go," she urged, waving a hand to strike up a northerly breeze. "While I am strong. And remember to keep your faith in the boat, or it will sink and drown us both."

"Good to know." He strode forward and pushed the boat towards the water. As it drew closer, it rose up above the water and hovered over the current of mist. Kili pulled down on one side and lifted himself in. As the boat straightened up, he reached down and unexpectedly offered her his hand.

He gave her a small, almost shy, smile. "I know you don't need help. But Bard isn't here, and I thought you might want to take my hand. You know…if you want to."

Tauriel gazed up at him and smiled. Slowly, she reached up, gripped his arm and used it to pull herself up onto the boat with him. The hull crackled under her feet, but didn't break as she moved to sit down.

Before she could settle herself, Kili's arms slipped under hers and lifted her back up against him. His eyes had gone dark, and she felt a tingle of anticipation running through her body as her nose touched his. Perhaps there was a little time, after all.

"Caught you," he taunted. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing," she said quietly. "What are you going to do about it?"

He kissed her, and for a moment everything in the dream froze in place. Nothing existed but him and his arms around her.

She lifted her hands to his shoulders and pulled him closer. He murmured something against her mouth and clutched her tighter. The kissing grew more demanding, and she could feel the craving for more building between them like a fever.

She broke the kiss for them both, and she buried her face in his hair as he held her, trying to slow her racing heart. She focused on the leaf boat and the rapids they needed to take them to Erebor.

The rushing of water reached her ears. The sun's rays fell on her eyes, and she opened them. "Kili?"

Slowly, he eased her down into the seat and let her go, but not without tracing a finger down her cheek. Without a word, he sat down beside her and grabbed one oar as she reached for the other.

Tauriel felt for the return of the breeze and gave him a nod. Kili used the oar to push away from the shore, and the boat rocked on the air, carrying them towards the mountain.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**

Thank you for your support MissCallaLilly. I truly appreciate it.

 **Chapter 9**

As the boat gained speed, Kili and Tauriel stopped using the oars and got to their feet to watch the shorelines. Unlike the real thing, the land around the mountain in her dreams was fertile and packed with young trees, grasses, birds, moss and flowers. The bottom of the boat crinkled but held against their weight as they twisted about to take it all in.

As the mountain began to loom over them, Tauriel went back to her seat and grabbed the oar.

"There is a waterfall coming up," she warned. "I can hear it crashing against the mountain's rocks. We will be going under it."

"How big?" Kili asked, climbing back down beside her.

"We can manage it," she assured him. The volume of water would give them a pounding, but if they got the boat through it they would be fine.

The roar of water grew louder. The boat rounded a bend in the current, and the waterfall came into view. Behind the curtain of water was a dark cave. Its entrance was just big enough to take their boat, and that was their destination.

Without a word to one another, they began rowing harder towards the falls, speeding the boat up. They had to make sure they didn't get caught up between the pressure of the falls and the swirling currents beneath, or they would never escape it.

There was little time to think before the water was hammering the boat, and then their shoulders and backs. Water drenched her and Kili as they pushed their way through the currents, giving their clothes the weight of lead. The leaf boat was almost full by the time they could row it out the other side and into the cavern.

Kili paused to examine the condition of the boat. "It's not damaged. And the leaves are still dry."

"We have to drag it ashore to empty it for the return trip." She pointed to a ramp and a set of stairs carved into black rock. "There."

When the boat scraped the cave's floor, they jumped into the cold water and hauled the boat onto the ramp. With a groan, they heaved the boat onto its side, and the water came gushing out, spilling back into the cavern's pool.

"Where to next?" prompted Kili, wringing water from his tunic. "I don't recognise any of this part of the Mountain."

Tauriel pulled her bedraggled hair out of her face and shook her head. "Neither do I."

They climbed the stairs to the door, and Kili hesitated. "The living won't be able to see us, right?"

"Perhaps," she confessed, resting her hand on the daggers at her hip. "I have never heard of dwarves being able to see spirits or ghosts before. But then a Silvan elf should not have been able to take you here in the first place."

His eyes widened. "I'm a ghost?"

"A spirit," she corrected. "And a very good looking one, even when wet."

Kili hid a smirk. He pushed open the door and they entered a narrow dark hall lit by yellow lanterns that hung from the ceiling. All four sides were sharply cut earth. Wavy lines showing the different layers of minerals ran across the flat surfaces as if they had been drawn there by hand.

Tauriel's attention went West. "I can hear sledgehammers being used down that way."

"Then the Kingdom is the other way," he surmised, walking east.

"How do you know they're not just reinforcing the tunnel?"

"It's a new tunnel," he pointed out, touching the wall. "And you said 'down', which means you noticed the slope. Dwarves only mine one way."

Tauriel arched one eyebrow and followed him, ducking her head under the low-hung lanterns. "And here I thought you were just a pretty face."

He shot her a smug look. "You, lady elf, have managed to snare a very rare, a very talented dwarf. Stay with me and we'll be out of here in no time."

She pretended to cough. Kili looked at her.

"It's dusty here," she murmured, trying to keep her expression innocent.

Kili looked suspicious, but he continued leading the way east without comment.

"Kili." She squeezed some water out from her hair. "It so happens that I am not a Lady. Would that...do you think that would have changed things for us when you were alive?"

"No," he replied simply, eyes still on the tunnel. "Though my fists would have hurt if it changed things for anyone else. Looks like we're getting close. I can see light up ahead."

The tunnel opened up, and Tauriel could see that they had reached the heart of an immense chasm. Horizontal platforms had been carved into its steep sides and were now full of dwarves operating mining machinery. Liquid minerals glowed as they flowed in tubes. Sparks flew as metal was ground against metal.

Keeping one eye on Kili, Tauriel peered down into the blackness and tried to guess how deep the chasm went. Dwarf lamps lit up the sides for a long way down, but she didn't think they reached all the way to the end.

Kili passed through a group of workers without detection, and she soon realised that no one could see or feel them. The dwarves went about their day without a glance at either Kili or Tauriel. One elder opened his lunch box and failed to notice Kili stealing a handful of bread from it.

"Hungry?" He broke the bread in half and offered her some. "I don't know why, but suddenly I am _starving_. Bard must have the appetite of a very small rabbit."

"Perhaps his appetite suppressed your own," she suggested, accepting the food. "Where to now?"

"Upwards. My family will be within the mountain itself. Keep your eyes peeled for a pneumatic lift."

"A what?"

"Wait, never mind, I see one."

She followed him, trusting him to know the best way around. However, when she realised that the metal cages shooting up and down at incredible speeds were what Kili was talking about, she grew uneasy. "Kili. Are you sure about this?"

"Of course." He led her to one that was currently loading dwarves. "Hurry," he pushed her into the cage door past the others and grasped the ceiling above him. "Hold on, but don't touch the sides if you can help it. You might lose a finger."

Being too tall for the cage, Tauriel had to bend over a little. She twisted her neck to look upwards, and tried to make out where the ropes holding the lift ended. It was as pointless as trying to see the bottom of the chasm.

"How does it work?" she asked, gripping the top of the cage with one hand. The metal was well made, but it felt too thin between her fingers. She did not trust it to protect her.

He shrugged. "It's just air and gears. I've been using them since I could walk, even though I wasn't supposed to. The elders call them death traps. They can go so fast that you feel like you're flying like an eagle sometimes."

The cage doors crashed shut. A burly dwarf threaded a metal bar through the door handles and then stood back.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

Chapters 9 and 10 were tough to write. Enjoy, silent readers.

 **Chapter 10**

"They're ready," the burly dwarf bellowed to someone behind him.

An younger dwarf appeared. He pulled on an iron gear stick behind him, and the lift shot into the air.

Tauriel clawed at the cage as they became almost weightless. Beside her, the dwarves collapsed, grumbled and shuffled as they recovered their balance. A few reached up with both hands to strengthen their grip on the cage. She didn't blame them.

An arm went around her waist to steady her, and she looked down. Kili gave her a reassuring smile, and she relaxed a little. She reminded herself that he had been travelling on these things for a long time, and no harm had come to him.

In a matter of seconds, she could see the inside of the peak of the mountain. It loomed closer and closer until she began to think that they would hit it. She closed her eyes until she felt them come to a halt with a sudden jerk. The cage shook and shuddered inside the chasm, knocking them about.

As they stilled, a hook pulled them across to a ledge with a ramp built on it. She and Kili pushed their way past dwarves and out through the cage doors as soon as they were pulled open. She breathed out a long sigh of relief as her feet touched earth.

"Has anyone died riding those things?" she asked, feeling a little breathless.

"What, death traps? Not that I know of. We're not far now," Kili said, glancing around. "I recognise this place."

They climbed up and down several flights of stairs that must have been carved out by Kili's ancestors. The path flattened out, and they arrived at the King's Hall in a matter of moments. Tauriel stared open-mouthed at the mirror-smooth golden floor in amazement. She had never seen so much gold in her life.

With Kili leading the way, they part walked, part skated across the Hall's floor to reach where he thought his family would be. They entered a curved tunnel lined with small meeting rooms on each side. The rooms were packed with dwarves, and it was in them that Kili began searching for familiar faces.

"Ironfoot," he remarked to her as they weaved through room after room of dwarves. "They're all Ironfoot. Where are Durin's Folk?"

A throwing axe flew past them and went crashing against a wall nearby.

"Get out!" screamed a woman. "I said get out!"

"Mother?" Kili peered out into the hall, where the axe had come from. Tauriel did the same just above him.

Standing next to a fallen throwing axe was Dáin II Ironfoot, Steward Under the Mountain. Tauriel recognised him from the Battle of the Five Armies. He was speaking to a woman hidden behind an open door, pleading with her to be reasonable in his unusual accent.

"If you say one more thing to undermine my son I will hack your back open and rip your spine out, Dáin Ironfoot! Do you understand me?" roared the woman.

Dáin, who was unusually large for a dwarf, seemed to shrink a little in size.

"Definitely my mother," decided Kili. "She's in a rare mood. Shall we go and see her?"

Tauriel opened her mouth and closed it again. It was a good thing that they were invisible. She didn't know much about mothers, but she didn't think this one was in a mood for receiving visitors.

"I'm only pointing out the obvious, Dís," Dáin reasoned as she and Kili slipped by him into the room. "Our kin are growing less confident in him by the day, and these are dark times. They need to know that they will be safe. Fili needs to step up now! You have to make him."

A dwarf woman stepped into the light of a lamp, and Tauriel was finally able to see Kili's mother in her entirety.

The first thing Tauriel noticed about Dís was that she looked exactly like Fili. Her blonde hair, full of braids and beads, ran down over broad shoulders and a solid body draped in white furs and silver cloth, gave her the appearance of a powerful winter queen.

"She is striking," said Tauriel. "One would remember her if they met her on the battlefield. I can see where your brother gets his fair looks from."

Kili coughed loudly into his hand. Tauriel gave him a curious look.

He blinked innocently. "It's dusty here."

Dís took a predatory step towards Dáin, her expression was full of rage.

"My son will have his coronation when he is ready and no sooner," she warned. "Those who have lost their faith in him can come and see me. I will inspire loyalty in them in such a way that they will never forget it. You are dismissed, _Steward_."

Dáin shook his distinctive beard of grey and red. "Your threats have no power now, Dís. Time is running out for Fili and everyone knows it. You need to speak to your son more firmly. He is used to Thorin's stern hand and he'll respond to it. Can you at least order him back from Dale?"

"You are dismissed!" she repeated, and with one large booted foot she kicked the door shut in Dáin's face.

Tauriel exchanged grim looks with Kili. All was not well Under the Mountain.

"How dare he ask me to treat my son like a puppet," Dís growled to herself. "That gold floor has gone to his _head_. The sooner we get rid of it, the better for all of us."

The great woman flounced over to a writing table, and started scribbling something on parchment. Kili crossed the room and leaned over his mother's broad shoulders to read what she wrote.

"She's writing to warn Fili that Dáin is getting worse," he murmured.

Tauriel peered around the room. The walls were decorated with weapons. Some of them were elvish. "Will she ask him to come back?"

"I don't think so." He paused. "She's writing about…" His eyes flitted to her and back to the paper. "She's reminding him that it wasn't your fault that I died, and she begs him to see past his grief and not to hurt you…"

Her face fell. She pretended to examine a bow hanging up on the wall.

Frowning, Kili straightened up. "Has Fili harmed you in some way?"

" _No_." She said it firmly. "His mother is having nightmares and he came to Dale to protect her. You know this."

He crossed the floor. "But, does he blame you for my death?"

She turned from him. "Why should he not?"

His fingers went around her wrist and he gave her a tug, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "He is wrong! You are wrong. You both dishonour me by thinking that it was your fault."

"I _know_ ," she bit out, feeling cornered. "But what did you expect us to do after sacrificing yourself? Did you think Fili would be glad? Did you think I would go on with my life as if nothing happened?"

Kili seemed to wrestle inwardly over what to say next. "I wanted you to live. Was that too much to ask?"

"Yes!" she argued, her voice rising. "It was. Because you made me _love_ you."

As soon as she said it, she instantly regretted it.

Kili stared at her. He ran a hand through his hair, pulling it out of his face, clearly trying to think through what he was going to say.

She glanced at Dís, who was quietly writing her letter nearby, and winced. This was poor timing for a confession. "I will wait for you back at the pneumatic lift. See your family, Kili. Take as much time as you need here. Our...this talk can wait."

She was being a coward, but it was too painful to wait for his reply. Ashamed, she hurried to the door and walked through it as if it wasn't there. She slipped past groups of dwarves, and made her way to the King's Hall.

She walked past Dáin. He was speaking in a low voice to another dwarf.

"That woman forces my hand," he whispered. "And she knows it. We must act now, or see it all fall apart."

A shadow fell over the gold floor, cooling the air. Tauriel glanced around, felt herself growing tense, and decided not to linger. Something was not right about the Hall.

She covered the distance to the pneumatic lift in short time and waited on the ledge near a group of dwarves. As time went by, she silently chided herself for what she had said to Kili. She dreaded what he would have to say in response. What if she had burdened him with something he didn't want?

Lost in her fears, she did not notice the darkness that crept up behind her, not until it was too late.

A blunt rock smashed her on the side of the head. A swift second blow sent her careening towards the end of the ledge.

Head throbbing, warm blood running down the side of her face, she stared down into the black mouth of the cavern and realised what was happening.

The monster was here.

She cried out and scrambled in the dirt for any handholds. Two of her fingers found a groove to latch onto, her nails scratched into the rock. But the creature crushed the bones in her fingers, almost bending them backwards under the pressure. She ripped her mangled hand free, and the thing delivered another skull-shattering blow to her head.

She struggled not to black out. She could feel her body sliding over the edge and she had to stop it. But she could feel her nails scrabbling for another hold, and her broken hand was throbbing with the effort. Her breath caught as the last of the solid ledge slipped from her reach.

Kili's anguished face appeared from nowhere, and he reached out for her just as she began to fall. He missed her bloody fingers by a hairsbreadth.

Heart in her throat, Tauriel's body gained momentum quickly. Too quickly. Looking up, Kili had already grown distant from her.

Dimly, she was aware that she was falling past the last of the dwarf lanterns lining the cavern's walls. She would soon be surrounded by the pitch black of the deep. She closed her eyes.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

Hello!

Cleo Leo. Thanks for reading this fic. I'm glad you like it, and I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me. I was beginning to have doubts.

Luinwen-2013. I will go on. Thank you for breaking the 'silence' to encourage me to do so. It was much needed.

deviant84. Thank you, I'm glad you like it even though it deviates from the norm. I have yet to write a tragedy though, and Kili's death scene just made me angry.

 **Chapter 11**

Fili was watching her when she awoke, his hands folded across his chest. His bleary eyes told her that he'd been keeping watch over her for some time. As she pushed herself up into a sitting position, he made a half-hearted attempt to assist her.

Rubbing a sore spot on the back of her neck, Tauriel looked around and realised that she was safely in her room in the dingy north wing of Bard's home. She was still dressed for travel, although her boots had been removed and a blanket was now draped loosely over her legs. Had she not wandered in her sleep this time?

Fili poured her a cup of water and handed it to her. "You must be parched after your long sleepwalk last night."

She took another look under the blanket and sighed. Her clothes were splattered with mud. Someone must have found her and brought her back to her room. "What of Kili? Is he safe?"

"Kili woke up in Bard's bed with Bard's body. I suppose that's safe enough." Fili's brows went up. "You and your body on the other hand, we found those in a puddle south of the gates. You were lucky nothing else found you first."

"We?" She looked at him more closely.

Fili yawned and stretched. "Me, Kili and half a dozen or so of Bard's men. Though I'll willingly take all of the credit if it makes you tell me what I want to know about my mother's nightmares."

"Your _mother_!" she croaked out, remembering what she had seen Under the Mountain. She took a sip of water to clear her throat and sat straighter. "You are right. I need to tell you what you want to know so that you can understand what Kili and I saw last night."

She told him about the dreams she made and what she was doing in them. She then told him of the journey to Erebor, and what she had later overheard Dáin say. When she ended the story with her run-in with the creature, Fili looked dumbfounded.

He took the cup back off her and gulped down a mouthful of water before speaking. "You fell down into the deep of the Mountain?"

"Yes," she said, feeling disheartened at the memory. She hadn't even been able to fight the creature this time before it killed her.

Fili gave her a curious look. "But Kili didn't fall, and he didn't mention running into any dark creature either. Are you being hunted by this thing? Is that why Kili woke up safe in bed and you didn't?"

"Perhaps." She pressed the palm of her hand to her head, trying to prevent the onset of a headache.

He frowned. "You gave him a good scare, you know."

"Who?" She blinked. "Kili? But I warned him that there would be risks."

"Well it turns out that you didn't warn him enough." Fili shifted on his stool. "He watched you fall and then he woke up and found you missing. He was beside himself. Thankfully none of the children were awake to see it."

"Was he so terrifying?" she asked, disbelieving.

Fili shook his head at her. "I shouldn't have to tell _you_ that he doesn't hide his feelings. Every man that helped us this morning now thinks that Bard has gone mad."

She eyed him doubtfully. "If Kili was as upset as you say, then I had better speak with him and Bran. What hour is it?"

"It's well past noon."

She reached down, grabbed her boots, and grimaced as she pulled them on. "Why did you not wake me sooner?"

"Kili warned me not to let anyone disturb you. He said you needed rest. If you tried to sleepwalk again I was given permission to lock the door to keep you in."

She laughed dryly. "Dale's King is gone, his men think he's run mad, there is no one left to oversee Dale except for Bran and myself, Kili only has two days left to complete his task, and your throne is about to be contested. But I have to sleep." She gave him a puzzled look. "And you were willing to watch over me. Why?"

"For my brother, of course," Fili muttered. "He doesn't trust me to keep you safe. I had to prove him wrong."

"I see," she murmured, recalling her earlier argument with Kili in their dream. She had told Fili some of it, but not all; not what she had admitted. She went to put on her damp coat and hurried down the hall to the weapons room, hoping her clothes would dry quickly if she kept moving for the rest of the day.

Fili followed close behind. "Well? Are you going to put in a good word for me?"

"Shouldn't you be more concerned about your troubles Under the Mountain," she asked impatiently.

His eyes narrowed. "I will not leave Kili alone while he's here."

Tauriel sighed. "Then for Kili's sake, I will have to help you with your troubles." She armed herself, and stumbled on an old pair of discarded wrist cuffs in the process. They did not fit her well, but at least they were dry. She put them on. "What can you offer Dale?"

"Offer?" Fili followed her out of the room.

"If you want time with Kili, then write to the Steward telling him that you are busy negotiating a trade with Dale, one that benefits the Mountain," she clarified. "It needs to be genuine, and the better the trade, the more likely he is to believe you. So think carefully."

Fili frowned at her. "How did you think of that?"

She paused to look back at him. "My kind are isolated from the rest of the world. How do you think we procure what we cannot create for ourselves?"

Fili scratched his neck. "I didn't think about it. Dwarves are mostly self reliant, and the one time I was with your kind I was too busy trying to escape. Remember?"

Her lips twisted. "I remember that you escaped using our most convenient trade route, so someone must have thought about it." She paused. "Where is Kili?"

"He's in the Great Hall with Bran," Fili replied. "They've been moving things about in there since breakfast."

She hurried down the hall, wanting to catch up for the time she had lost while asleep. She understood Kili's kindness in letting her rest, but he was only here for a short time, and she just wanted to be with him again. She had no intention of telling him this though. He had enough to worry him.

Once again, she hoped that she hadn't put more weight on his shoulders by telling him she loved him. She knew he would want to talk about it, but she could be more careful with her answers next time, verbally diminishing her feelings for him to nothing if she had to.

A patch of daylight shone down on her, and she stopped in her tracks when she found herself in an unfamiliar expanse of space. Tauriel let her eyes adjust and stared.

The Great Hall had become a great hall once again. Gone was the rubbish and rocks that had cluttered the floors. The columns now stood alone and in all their glory.

She touched one solid column in awe as if it were a tree. The structure, no, the entire area was much bigger than she had thought. The floor was still dusty and the ceiling still had wide gaping holes in it, but the King and his people now had a place to hold court.

She spied Bran and Bard's tall form on the stairs and went to join them. As she drew nearer, she didn't miss the wary expression Bran gave her. Perhaps Fili hadn't exaggerated the morning's events after all.

"You have been busy," she said in greeting, glancing from Bran to Kili. Her eyes took in the dust on the tailored clothes Kili was wearing as he rose from his work to face her. "But are there not other things you should be doing?" she hinted.

Kili slumped at the sight of her, as if a great weight had been removed from his shoulders. "You're awake," he observed, and then strode towards her and threw his arms around her.

Bran's wariness turned into a scowl, and Tauriel carefully avoided meeting his eyes.

"Kili," she whispered into Bard's coat.

"Just for a moment," Kili murmured into her ear. "Just a moment."

Tauriel's resolve softened at the note of fear in his voice. Unable to deny him anything, she remained still and let him hold her a little longer. She would deal with the repercussions later. And there would be repercussions.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

deviant84. Thank you for your review. I am enjoying writing Fili's transformation in this fic. As for Tauriel, I wasn't planning to put a huge spotlight on what has been driving her, but now I will make sure to drop more hints.

Cleo Leo. I'm glad it touched your heart. I always hope that my writing reaches others, but it is hard for me to know if I've achieved that.

Guest. Thank you for your review. I'm sure there are lots of valid reasons why people don't leave a comment. To me, it makes yours extra special.

 **Chapter 12**

Tauriel was discovering that she never felt lighter than when she was being held by Kili.

Yes, there was the not-so-small problem that he was in Bard's body. And Bran's scowl was growing bigger the longer Kili held her. Yet she could feel Kili's warmth reaching her through it all, somehow clearing away the dark thoughts and feelings deep weighing her down, and allowing her to rise above it all and see something better.

As he released her, she searched his eyes, wondering if he had used magic on her to make her feel this way. He merely smiled and gave her arm a small squeeze.

"Bran thinks I've gone mad," Kili announced, nodding to the scowling man standing next to them. "I had him help me clear away the hall, and now I have his men scavenging tables and chairs for it."

Bran brushed at the dirt on his clothes in jerky movements and then frowned at Tauriel. "It has been an interesting morning all around, particularly when I was ordered to waste all my time and effort in the search for an _elf errant_."

Kili's eyes widened. "And now he's forgotten his manners. Must have left them outside of the gates when he was helping me find a missing citizen in need."

Bran opened his mouth to argue, and then seemed to think better of it. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to check on the making of the fire pits for the Hall." He managed to throw Tauriel another nasty look behind Kili's back before leaving.

Kili sighed as Bran disappeared down the steps. "I have made too many changes for that man's comfort today, but I don't have time to slow down for him. It's a good thing Bard is a King, or he would have had me well and truly banished from Dale by now."

"Kili, why have you spent your time looking for me and clearing up Bard's Great Hall?" she demanded, turning to face him. "What about what you saw Under the Mountain?"

The corners of his mouth turned up. "Apart from the issue of the throne, the dwarves seem to be doing well, unlike Dale's people. Besides, I told you last night; I'm not going anywhere."

Suddenly feeling shy, she turned to look at the Hall. "Dale certainly needs the help."

Kili grew serious. "And what about you? How are you after last night?"

She forced a smile. "I do not require help. It is not the first time I have fallen to my death and it was not the first time I would have woken up in the Desolation of Smaug."

"Tauriel, I watched you fall, and then I woke up and found you missing from your room." He sighed. "Why didn't tell me that you died each time? Or that your body was abandoned to the dangers outside these walls. If I had known that was the kind of risks you were talking about, I wouldn't have asked you to take me to the mountain."

She pretended to inspect her wet boots. He was right. She had not explained the dangers to him clearly enough, but neither had she expected to encounter the creature while they were Under the Mountain. She had thought that it only wanted to stop her from reaching the Great White. Perhaps it wanted her to stop dreaming altogether.

"The dark foe you told me about," he continued. "How did I not see it? It must have been right beside me on that ledge."

She huffed. "It could not be seen by the eye this time. I did not have a chance to fight it. That foul thing has powers not of this earth."

Kili leaned a little towards her. "Do not dream again. I am begging you."

She turned away from him, shaking her head. "I will not agree to something so unjust."

"It is too dangerous." His eyes followed her. "When I leave, don't go looking for me up there. Wait in Dale. I will try and find a way to you."

"And what if you can't find a way?" she demanded. "What if _you_ run into trouble? No. I will not sit and wait. That is not who I am, Kili."

He was quiet for a moment. "I am afraid of what will happen to you. Your strength is not as it was. Don't think I haven't noticed."

She flinched and turned away from him as if he'd pressed the tip of a blade into her chest.

A small part of her had known that she was waning. It was easy to ignore what was under her own nose. But she hated looking at it; that image of an exiled elf, living in a place with no trees. Grey under the eyes and pale skin on her bony flesh. The green in her eyes was dull and lifeless.

"Let me fight for you this time." His words intruded on her thoughts. "Tauriel, I cannot go through finding you like that in the mud again."

She let him see her dull lifeless eyes. "And what if I forbade you to find me?"

He hesitated, and his eyes widened. "Don't do that. That would be…worse. I would go mad."

"Yes," she confirmed, seeing the image of that exiled elf in her mind's eye again. "And yet you ask this of me."

He lowered his head as if struck. She waited an eternity for him to speak, heart pounding in her chest. Would he still ask her to wait?

"How about this then," he said after several moments, clearing his throat. "We will come for each other, and if we're really lucky, we will meet somewhere along the way. It's a long shot, but I'm willing to try it if you are."

She blew out a long breath. "Agreed." At least she would be doing something.

"But." Kili held out his hand to her. "You have to rebuild your strength while I'm here."

She eyed his hand suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

"Rest, no dreaming, eating like a dwarf," he said. "Staying by my side."

She arched one brow. "How is staying by your side going to rebuild my strength?"

"Someone has to make sure you're following through," he explained, looking like he was hiding a smile. "And who else is going to teach you to eat like a dwarf."

She took his outstretched hand and held it briefly. "Very well. But only because you plan to help Dale. Bard's absence means a lot of work."

"Then you can show me what needs to be done," he said. "After you change into dry clothes."

"How did you..." She blushed. "Never mind. They are not that bad."

"It's not that difficult to change your clothes. Want me to help you?" he offered.

Her eyes narrowed. "No need. I have nothing to change into."

"Even better." His lips twitched.

She stared at him. "Were you like this with Bran? No wonder he is angry with me."

He shrugged. "You and Bran don't seem used to following orders, so I have to flirt a little. I'm beginning to think that Bard is just a figurehead around here. Even to his children."

She hesitated. His words had hit a little close to the truth. "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing," he said. "I made them breakfast this morning, and you would think Bard had never done it before the way they looked at me."

She stared at him. "You made them breakfast?"

"It was just pancakes. Nothing fancy." He shrugged.

"Pancakes." She could feel a headache coming on. "Stay here. I will see what I can find to wear. _Do not_ follow me inside."

Kili hid a smile. "Take some of Bard's clothes if you want. He has a lot of great stuff that has probably never been worn. Lots of _green_."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Tauriel stared blankly at the tailored clothes that Bard had never worn. The tunics, coats and pants sat neatly folded in a chest in Bard's room, one on top of the other. The fabrics had been carefully layered so that the full array of colours and details could be seen from above.

There was a hint of forest green material buried several layers down. Once it had been her favourite colour. She kept going to reach for it to tug it out so she could admire it, and then she would pause, fingers curling around nothing.

It was too bright, too cheerful. It was beautiful and it called to her, but she couldn't wear it. Not yet.

Realising she had been staring at the clothes for too long, she blinked, grabbed at a black tunic and pants and took them to her room. After changing and securing the pants with a belt, she borrowed some dry boots from storage that came close to fitting her, and went back out to join Kili in the cleared hall.

His broad smile dulled a little at the sight of the black.

"I will be hunting spiders later. This will conceal the blood and dirt," she said, pulling at her belt, unnecessarily checking that it was secure.

"It also makes you impossible to find in the dark," Kili pointed out, tucking Bard's hands into his coat pockets. "I guess I should be relieved." He hesitated. "I thought that you were wearing black for another reason."

She schooled her face to give away nothing. "What other reason could there be?"

"I thought that you were mourning someone." He stared down at Bard's feet. "I thought maybe you had lost your friend."

"My friend?"

"You know. The elf." He looked more closely at his boots. "The one who was always following you around. I noticed that he was no longer..."

Her face relaxed as she realised who he meant. "Legolas is well, as far as I know. I was told that he left to find his own place in the world, as he should."

He shifted. "Then who are you mourning? It's not me is it? That would be..." His face paled as he looked back at her face. "Durin's Beard...you are mourning me."

Her hands went to smooth the black material against her arm. "You know, for a dwarf you have become disturbingly quick at reading my mind. How am I supposed to protect you if I can no longer lie to you?"

"I can't believe it," he said, looking a little dazed. "You are mourning me still? I am standing right here. Right in front of you!" He pointed to his feet. "If it wasn't for this body I would..."

"What?" she asked.

He leaned towards her. "Somehow, I am going to wake you up from this darkness you've condemned yourself to because of me."

She snorted. "And how do you plan to do that?"

" _Thoroughly!_ " he shouted, looking like he was about to kiss her.

She took a cautious step back. "I cannot bring myself to shed the black."

"You can."

"I cannot!" she insisted.

"We have already agreed to do the impossible," he announced. "Durin's Beard, we are doing the impossible now. This is just one tiny thing more."

"You have possessed a king's body; not his power. Do not think I will obey your every command."

"Obey. You?" Kili's smile was bitter. "You will only ever do what is right." He paused. "Even if it is to your own detriment. That's why you and Bran cover up for Bard. Why didn't I think of that before?"

She breathed out through her nose. "Stop bringing Bard into this, stop guessing my thoughts and stop telling me what I should do!"

He sighed. "I am just telling you what you _can_ do. You have the strength to change. You can, if you want to."

Her eyes narrowed. "Leave this matter alone, or do I need to resort to threats?"

"Okay! Okay," he said, hands raised in imitation of surrender. "Just, think about it, would you? For me?"

She folded her arms. "There is nothing wrong with black. It renders me inconspicuous."

He nodded and straightened up. "Black is a very useful shade. Great for burglars to blend into the night. Have you ever thought about becoming a burglar? You could mourn me during the day, and steal something bright and shiny at night to cheer you up."

She rolled her eyes to the sky. "Strangely that idea never occurred to me when I chose to mourn you."

He shrugged. "I think you should try being one. You would be good at it."

She felt the corners of her mouth dimple. "Even if I could stomach a burglar's morals, and you know I could not, I would need to practice. I have never stolen anything before."

His eyes narrowed "Oh, I think you have."

She tried to think of a time when her actions could be construed as burglary, and came up empty.

Kili smirked. "How about we talk about this over breakfast? I'm starving."

She blinked. "I thought you said that you had eaten with the children."

Kili shook his head. "I said I fed _them_ , not _me_. They didn't leave me a crumb. I smell food…" He turned and pointed roughly towards the markets. "In that direction. Let's go. Bard is buying." He patted a pocket on his coat.

She peered at Bard's face. "Bard should buy himself a shave first."

Kili raised one hand to rub the triangular beard and the mild scruff that had appeared on his jaw overnight and shrugged. "Bard needs a real beard if he's going to be a good king. Not this scrap of a thing. It's time for him to grow it out."

She scoffed. "A bigger beard is going to make him a better king?"

"Of course it will," he assured calmly. "And he needs to start growing one now. He's hairless enough as it is."

Her lips twisted into an involuntary smile.

"This is no joke," Kili insisted, and tried to pull down the front of his tunic to show her his chest. "Look. Nothing. Smooth as a babe's backside."

She gave him a light jab in the ribs with her elbow. "Put that away. It is not yours to show."

"I'm helping him! He has a mountain full of dwarves for neighbours, and he's not going to be able to deal with them without more hair," he explained.

"While we are discussing Bard, _again_." She briefly faced him. "You cannot cook sweet things for his children. He would never do it. Food means survival to him; he would not waste even a fistful of it, not even in good times."

Kili suddenly grew sober. "I wondered about that; the breakfast. The children were so happy over a few measly pancakes. Will they be suspicious now? Should I tell them the truth?"

She lowered her voice, conscious that many ears were listening as they drew nearer to the markets. "They need their father. Knowing that he is missing would devastate them. I know it is much to ask, but you must keep up the pretence, for their sake."

He nodded. "I swear I will, but I still don't understand why Bard doesn't make sweet things for them once in a while. The smile on the youngest one's face when I poured out the honey was worth more than gold."

She frowned. "Perhaps he did once, but not now."

Kili drew closer and gave her a nudge with his arm. "It is not too late for him, you know."

"For what?"

"For him to have fun with his children. You know, before they grow up and leave for adventures."

Tauriel fell silent, wondering if it was foolish to want to see the world through Kili's eyes; to be hopeful again; because she did, badly.

They chose a stall that fried a meal of lake-fish and vegetables. Kili transferred flakes of fish to her plate from his. When she tried giving some back to him, he refused.

"You agreed," he gently reminded her. "I know eating doesn't seem important when you're trying to protect a town, a family, and bring someone back from the dead, but it is."

She smiled and quietly ate her meal.

When they had had their fill, Tauriel showed Kili the worst of the damage that both dragon and age had wrought on the town's structure. She pointed out the weak places in Dale's wall, the she showed him the damage to the homes and the winding street gutters. As the light began to fade, Tauriel pointed out the town's enormous dry cistern, once the heart of Dale, now a filthy pit of dirt, pipes and rocks.

Tauriel glanced at Kili. "I have tried to find what is blocking the pipes, but I am no expert on such matters. I have been experimenting with the water pressure down by the lake, and I now know more about pumping water than I care to, but I still cannot find the answer."

"No wonder. This place is in ruins," he observed, picking up a broken piece of pipe and letting it drop again.

She ran a hand back over her brow and hair. "I work on it a little, and then I leave it for other duties, hoping an answer will come to me while I am away."

"I might be able to help you with this," he offered, crouching down to inspect the inside of the cistern's walls.

"I am told that this cistern once tapped an underground spring. These people need their own water in times of war. Drawing water from the lake as we are now is too dangerous."

Kili glanced up. "Do you know if the spring is still there?"

"Yes," she answered. "I can hear it surging beneath us even now."

"Then we can fix it." He glanced up at the sky. "But we need some light first. The sun is fading fast."

Without a word, she shoved him back down into a crouching position, leaning over him to protect his body. An arrow whipped past their ears and embedded itself in a tree that hovered not far from the fountain's edge.

Kili turned to glance at the arrow, and then back at her. "You didn't tell me someone was trying to kill Bard."

"Witch!" A man's voice called out from across the fountain. He moved into view, keeping a freshly notched arrow pointed at Tauriel's head. "We all see the dark spell you have cast on our King. Leave Dale or we will see you burn!"

She rose cautiously. Beside her, Kili drew Bard's sword from its sheath as he straightened up. He pointed it at the figure.

"What did you just call her?" he growled.

The figure's eyes widened, and seemed to choose his next words carefully. "Your Majesty...forgive me. I didn't recognise you. I assure you that I am your most loyal- Argh!" The man twisted and crumpled to the ground. A small dagger with a gold hilt was sticking out of the soft flesh of his backside.

Behind the man stood Sigrid.

"It was an accident," she explained, blushing. "I was aiming for his shoulder."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Sigrid, Kili and Tauriel half walked, half dragged their prisoner to his cell near the barracks. While Tauriel tarried to give instructions to the guards, Kili and Sigrid slowly traipsed back outside into the early evening air.

Kili touched Sigrid lightly on her thin shoulder. "Well done young one," he said. "Your Da' is proud of you."

Sigrid flushed. "You never say things like that."

"Well, I'm saying it now." Kili watched her. "I've really never said that to you before?"

She gave him a long look. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Kili frowned, shrugged. "I should say those things. How else are you going to know?"

Sigrid grew solemn, and seemed unable to give him an answer.

Tauriel finally exited the prison and stopped when she saw Kili's face. "You are bleeding. The arrow must have grazed you. Are you quite well?"

"I feel fine." Kili reached up and touched the side of his face. His hand ran over the familiar sensation of blood on skin. "That was a close shave, though."

Tauriel ripped off the cuff on one of her long sleeves and reached up to press the torn material against his ear. "Are you certain there was no poison on the tip?"

"I'm sure." He paused to admire the soft curve of her wrist. "That was fast work of a perfectly good shirt. Do you do this kind of thing to your clothes often?"

Her eyes and cheeks shone with laughter, but she lifted his hand at the elbow and slapped his hand against his cheek where the material was. "Only for those too helpless to do it for themselves."

He smiled. "Do you get changed now? Or do you insist on wearing the same shirt for the rest of the day?"

"Da'!" Sigrid looked horrified.

To his surprise, Tauriel laughed out loud. It lasted for a mere moment, but it was so powerful that it seemed capable of breaking a spell.

"I am going to to find Bran." Tauriel announced, still smiling. "I'm overdue to take a hunting party out."

And Kili fully expected that Bran would upbraid her over the morning's events as well. He couldn't allow that. It would depress her again.

He grabbed at what was left of Tauriel's sleeve with two of his long human fingers. "Who's going to help me clean the Great Hall then?"

"Sigrid will," she answered. She was teasing him. Kili kept his hold on her sleeve and shook his head solemnly.

She gaped. "I am?"

Best not to start another battle of wills against an elf who seemed to be forged of metal and fire. Instead, he coaxed her and Sigrid towards the great hall where Tilda and Bain were waiting to greet them.

Tilda ran up to Kili as if he'd catch her, and it seemed almost natural to use his long mannish arms to lift her up and hold her. Huh. Maybe this Da gig was easier than he thought. "Want to help your Da clean the great hall?"

Tilda's eyes widened in horror. "Nooo."

The little one was clever. "What if I promise to give you a foot dance afterwards?"

"What's a foot dance?"

"I will only show you if you help me."

"Well then...we're all going to do this properly," announced Sigrid, tying a cloth around her hair. "Sweeping and dusting first and then mopping. When the water dries, we start all over again. Only the skies above know how many times we will need to do it."

Kili frowned. He did not like the mention of the skies. He peered above at the stars and felt a deep foreboding in doing so. Was Thorin up there somewhere, watching in deep disapproval as Kili made choices that no one had expected him to make.

Sigrid shook his arm and led them all downstairs to find mops, rags and buckets. Water and soap flakes were scrubbed together by hand and the group set to work cleaning up the newly-made empty space.

Each child had their own way of approaching the dust that began to float around them like minute particles of snow as they worked. Bain charged it head on, racing across the floor and creating tracks in his wake. Tilda studied it, rubbing at it and staring at the changes it made to her small space.

Sigrid steadily worked away at it, knowing that she was going to overcome all standing in her way with persistence. And then there was Tauriel.

Kili straightened, and leaned on the top of his broom to watch her. She was cleaning, and she wasn't. It was otherworldly.

The dust swirled around her and away from her as if she'd put an enchantment on it. She was smiling, holding a large torn banner up and away from her by two poles, somehow creating an unnatural current of air that spun around her body and fanned clouds of grey away from her. It was magic.

"Is that a foot dance?"

Kili blinked, as if waking from a dream, and glanced down at Tilda. "No. That is not a foot dance."

"It's lovely," Tilda decided, and then yawned.

Kili patted her small head. "Lie down."

"What about Sigrid, and cleaning, and the foot dance?"

"Don't mind her, or cleaning, and we'll have a dance later." Kili shook out a cleaning cloth and spread it out on the floor for her. "Sleep, little one."

Tilda obeyed and lay down on the ground. Kili took off his coat and folded it to form a makeshift pillow for her head.

"I can see the stars. There are so many! Da, do you think they watch you when you sleep?"

Kili's stomach lurched. He hoped not. Thorin would not understand what he saw.

He hoped not.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**

Cleo Leo. Thank you! Sorry it's so late. :)

Luinwen-2013. Yes, I'm afraid you are very right about poor Bard.

Original Guest. Hello there! You are very astute; you need no further explanations from me. Thank you for your comment.

 **Chapter 15**

In the very early hours of the morning, Tauriel heard Bran approaching the Great Hall from the stairs. She propped her mop and bucket up against a column, flexed her sore wrists and went to meet him alone.

"You took out a hunting party," she observed, descending. "Why did you return so late?"

He hesitated on the spot and met her gaze. His expression was ill-humoured. "We need to talk, quiet-like."

Tauriel frowned and nodded. She could guess what he wanted to talk about, and it wasn't hunting. The two of them traipsed the path leading to the barracks until they were alone.

Bran glanced around once more to check the area was deserted, and then turned to face her. His eyes narrowed at her. "You said his illness wasn't serious."

"It is not as bad as it appears," she explained. "He will be well soon. Allow a day or two." She hoped.

Bran shook his head at her. "He told me he wants to start hearing all civil claims from his people as soon as possible, but first he wants to host an reopening celebration for the Hall and his people. Not serious? Who is this man? Who are you trying to fool?"

She huffed. "You make it sound as if he is accepting bribes, increasing taxes and bleeding the town dry, not helping it. What is so wrong with the changes he has made?"

Bran lifted a finger at her. "You said you didn't want to be seen leaning over his shoulder."

"I said so, did I not?"

"Then why does he behave as if you have bewitched him somehow?"

Tauriel drew in a deep breath. Was he accusing her of using magic on Bard?

The old man squeezed his eyes shut and opened them. "I'm not saying that you have, but the new rumours going around Dale are saying much worse than that."

She folded her arms across her chest. "When have the rumours in Dale ever been in my favour? I can manage them."

"No, you can't. This time is different," he insisted, looking worried and guilty. "I went out for a drink after the hunt. The things some of them were saying-"

She cut him off. "I am not interested in hearing the foul words of drunken men."

Bran put one hand on her arm. "Just tell me the truth. I'm sure your intentions are...I can protect you."

She pushed his hand away. "Think what you want about my intentions. I do not need your protection."

He reached for her again, only to have his arm brushed away in a defensive move. Tauriel gave him a warning look and then stormed up the path back towards the hall. He did not follow.

Alone, her face fell. She had thought better of Bran than others of his kind. How could he think that she had bewitched Bard? She was a fool to have trusted him to the extent she had.

She was so upset that she nearly walked past Fili without acknowledging him. She had to stop and turn around to greet him. It was then she realised that he hadn't noticed her either. He was frozen on the spot, staring up at the Great Hall with a lost look on his face. Something was wrong with him.

Tauriel put her own thoughts aside to focus on the dwarf. "Fili." She tilted her head to one side to see his eyes better. "Are you all right?"

Fili blinked. "Yes. Of course I am. I'm a dwarf," he said, matter-of-factually. He shifted to look at her. "I see you've all been working hard all through the night. The Hall looks as new. Dale's people will be impressed."

He then glanced up at the sky as if distracted by a thought. Tauriel looked up and saw the first rays of the sun appear. Dawn.

"Days come and go, whether you want them to or not," Fili grumbled. "They wait for no one."

Tauriel frowned and then pressed her palm to her forehead in understanding. Fili's current mood suddenly made sense. She had completely forgotten about his earlier request. "I have been thoughtlessly cruel." She gestured to the Hall. "Come. I will put in a good word with Kili now, though I am sure that he is already more than willing to make amends with you."

"What?" Fili's eyes widened. "No. I wasn't...I wasn't talking about that."

"Come!" she insisted. Without thinking, she reached out to put one hand on the dwarf's shoulder. "Make amends and speak with him of your concerns for Erebor. I assume you have put some thought towards a trade agreement with Dale too?"

Fili stared up at her and shook his head. "Elves." Still, he let her steer him up the stairs.

The two found Kili and the children resting on the clean floor in a huddle. As they drew nearer, Kili opened his eyes and climbed to his feet. "Hello. What's going on?"

Tauriel leaned towards Kili and spoke quietly in his ear. "I will be putting Bard's children to bed while you speak at length with your brother. There is no need to be distant from him anymore. Fili and I are now good comrades."

Kili's expression was knowing. His face then moved a little too close to hers. "You're lying."

She smiled. "Someday, it could be true. Then it will not be a lie."

He sighed. "This is another one of those times where I wish I wasn't in Bard's body."

"You are not alone," she whispered, and moved on to the children. She heard him move forward to greet his brother.

"Fili."

"Kili."

Smiling to herself, Tauriel reached down and lifted Tilda into her arms. She decided that she would prepare a bath for all three children before putting them to bed. Their faces and arms had turned grey from the dust.

Later, once satisfied that Bard's children were clean and resting, Tauriel pulled off her tunic and washed herself in her room. She stared down at the streaks the water made as it ran through the dirt on her body.

She began to think about Kili's body and wondered once again where it was. The last she had seen it was when they had taken him to be buried in Erebor. Had the dwarves buried him so deep in the Mountain that his spirit couldn't find it?

Erebor. She turned her attention to her bed. She could go there alone, now, find his tomb and exhume his body.

But she had promised Kili no dreaming.

She sighed and finished washing herself. Tauriel changed clothes, and climbed into bed, making sure that there were no less than three daggers under her pillow. She then closed her eyes with the full intention of getting some rest for part of the morning.

And woke up gasping.

A hand touched her back. "What happened? Did you dream? I told you not to dream!"

Still gasping, she leaned her head on the man's shoulder and tried to steady her breathing. "It was _not_ a dream. It was a nightmare." A very dark one. "Kili?" she asked belatedly.

"It's me," he reassured. "Hold Bard like this when I'm gone and you're in trouble. Understand?"

She chuckled silently and gently pushed him away. He let go of her, sat back on the edge of her bed and gave her an affectionate smile.

Her smile faded. "I was trapped inside your tomb," she confessed uneasily. A shiver ran down her spine. "There was no body in it. No weapons, no flesh, no bones; nothing. Why would there be no body?"

Kili looked stunned for a moment, but soon recovered. "It was just a nightmare. None of it was real."

She nodded and tried to let go of what she had seen.

Kili leaned towards her conspiratorially. "Sometimes I have nightmares about missing breakfast hour."

Her lips curled upwards. "Do you?"

"So I thought I'd come and wake you up, you know, just in case you had the same concerns."

"Have I missed breakfast hour?"

"It depends." His eyes crinkled. "If I tell you that there's pancakes left over for you, are you going to guess that I made them for the children again and get mad?"

She punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" He made a show of rubbing his arm.

"Lead the way to breakfast," she huffed, climbing out of bed. "Then tell me what we are doing today."


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**

deviant84. Hello! It's good to hear from you. I agree; I also like stories to have conflict. It makes the happy ending worthwhile. Kili is going to get his, don't you worry.

 **Chapter 16**

 _Days come and go, whether you want them to or not. They wait for no one._

Tauriel's hands moved quickly as she and Kili hurried to reinforce the worst parts of Dale's outer walls. Every time she glanced upwards, the sun had moved a little higher. At noon they would have to stop whether they were finished or not, or they would not have time to work on the Cistern.

Bard's men were there to help, but she couldn't help but notice that they were nervous around her and Kili. It made her nervous, and a little sad. She tried to ignore it, but it was hard for an elf not to notice such things.

They stopped at the Hall for a short meal at noon and saw that numerous men, women and children were busy preparing for the evening celebration. Banners were being raised, chopped wood was being hand-delivered and food was being prepared by large groups of women standing around tables and fires.

Kili smiled at the sight, and she couldn't help but smile too. Dale was coming alive.

When they arrived at the fountain, Fili and an unhappy Bran were waiting for them. The two of them had already worked out that it was the main pipe that was blocked due to their earlier efforts with a smaller pipe. As the water pressure had not worked for Tauriel in the past, they would have to dig down and clear the block that way.

"Digging will take days. We have no time for it," Tauriel finally decided, going over the plants growing in the cracks just outside of the fountain. Her magic allowed her to control dreams; perhaps there was a chance that she could do more.

"I wasn't aware that we had time constraints," Bran said coldly. "What do you suggest we do then?"

She found a healthy plant and gently began to remove it from the soil, roots and all. "Ask a tree to help us." She carried the plant over to the centre of the Cistern and looked for a place near the pipe to plant it.

"Did she just say 'tree'?" said Fili. "What's a tree going to do?"

She knelt down and planted the sapling in a wide crack. She then placed her hands around it and chanted softly for it to awaken. She could feel the roots start to stretch and grow downwards towards the water source. It moved faster and easier for her than ever before.

Something tickled her chin. She glanced down to see that the sapling was growing upwards as well. "That should be enough." She hoped.

"Enough for what?" asked Fili. "It'll take lifetimes for that thing to grow."

"Have faith!" defended Kili. "If anyone can do a miracle, it's her."

Bran looked at the plant suspiciously, as if he suspected it would bite him if he turned his back on it.

Tauriel brushed her hands together. "For now, we should seal up the basin."

The afternoon was spent closing the cracks in the fountain. The sapling remained unchanged as they went about their work. At sunset, on Kili's prompting, they gathered up their tools and walked back towards the Hall to wash up for the celebration.

Candles and fire-pits were lit. The band tuned their humble instruments and played lively music. Men and families arrived in droves. Some sat to eat and drink at the tables, while others - particularly the younger ones - danced around them.

Arriving together, clean and in casual fighting gear, Fili, Tauriel and Bain went to find chairs at a table. Kili led Tilda off to one side of a group of dancers.

From her seat, Tauriel watched as Kili lifted the little girl so that her two feet were standing on his two boots. Tilda clung to his hands as he slowly lifted one of Bard's feet and then the other. A smile grew on the girl's face as he slowly waltzed her in a small circle.

"He's made her happy again," Sigrid whispered, appearing at Tauriel's side and taking the seat next to her.

"It is good to see," replied Tauriel.

"I cannot remember her ever smiling this much." Sigrid's gaze on her was steady. "I wonder if it will ever happen again?"

"Why would it not?" she said, and then turned to face Sigrid with a smile of her own.

"But with whom? Da, or the stranger that is now impersonating him?"

Tauriel's smile faded. She stared into Sigrid's shrewd eyes and felt her heart pinch. She knew. Kili had been discovered. "I should have told you."

The young woman bent her head and leaned closer. "Where is my father? Did he leave us?"

"No." She placed her hand on Sigrid's thin shoulder. "No. He would never leave you."

"You swear?" The chin lifted a little.

"I swear." she answered. She glanced around and noticed that a more than a few eyes were watching them; watching her. Bran had been right; she was in danger. "It is difficult to speak now, but I will say this: the...stranger you see will be leaving tomorrow. I have every hope that your father will return when that happens."

Sigrid exhaled. "Are you sure? How can you know?"

"It is almost certain."

"But who is this spirit?" Sigrid demanded. "Can we trust him?"

She reached for a folded napkin on the table and handed it to the girl. "We can speak freely later. For now, you have my word that you can trust him with your life."

"You know him?" Sigrid's eyes searched hers.

Tauriel softened. "I know him."

Bard's eldest reached for a piece of food and bit into it. She looked down at it and frowned. "I had hoped it was Da who had changed."


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Deep in the night, long after the celebrations for the Hall had ended, long after Sigrid had learned the whole truth from Tauriel and had gone to bed to wrestle with her thoughts and feelings about her missing father, Tauriel took Kili for a walk in the direction of the town's dry cistern.

Most of the house lanterns and torches had already been put out and there were not many people on the streets. The pair could only hear their own footsteps on the stones. That was, until they heard the sound of moving water.

The cistern came into view, and they both stopped walking to stare. The plant had grown in size; it was now no longer a young sapling. Roots and branches had thickened and spread out into a small tree.

Water was spilling out of small holes hidden in the branches. The water flowed over leaves and down the trunk into the almost-full basin. Tauriel leaned over to scoop a handful of water, lifted it to her nose and then cautiously took a sip.

The water was safe to drink. It tasted of rock salts and plant matter, but it was fresh. She gave Kili a small smile.

He barked out a laugh. "You did it. You really did it! In less than a day."

She sat down on the edge of the basin, scooped up another handful of water and drank it. "It tastes like the heart of the Mountain itself."

He sat down next to her. "Look at the currents, the tree's roots are pumping the water in and out."

She smiled wider. "When it reaches maturity, I will have to give it a wife so that it will not be lonely."

Kili gaped. "A wife? It's alive?"

"Of course it is." She peered up at the tree's foliage. "Even now it whispers to us a greeting in its own tongue."

"Uh, hello there!" Kili waved at the trunk and then gently took one of Tauriel's hands in his, letting Bard's fingers curl around her palm. "Best to be safe and let it know you're spoken for," he said to her. "Don't want it to get any thoughts about you being its wife."

She smiled. "It does not want an elf for a wife. It wants a tree like itself."

"Well it's a fool then." His hand tightened around hers. "What being would not want you?"

She looked at him. "Do you think a spirit would want me?"

"Over my dead body." He grinned at his own joke. "Besides, I've heard that they're terrible flirts."

"True." She pulled her hand out of his. "I will have to find someone else to be my companion in this life."

His smile faded. "Tauriel, on the morrow, if something happens..."

She shook her head. "If things go wrong, whatever part of me is left behind will still go to find you."

He closed his mouth, looking discontent. He lifted a hand and pulled a strand of hair away from where it hung over her eyes. "You are so beautiful," he observed. It was clear he wanted to say something more.

* * *

On the last day of Kili's journey, crowds gathered and talked in the Great Hall as the King's clerks assembled tables, scrolls and ink. A witness stand made off light wood was placed nearby. This day, for the first time, the King would listen to the problems of his people.

"Stop looking like you're expecting an enemy ambush to happen at any moment," Fili warned Tauriel. She ran her eyes over the crowds once more before answering him.

"Only when you stop looking like Kili hurt your dog," she answered, making sure to keep her voice low.

"I don't!" he snapped, cheeks flushing. "I'm just not ready for him to leave."

Kili entered the hall and the crowd grew more animated. Bran led him to the clerks, and the clerks led him to sit at a table in the centre of the others. This was where he would be making his judgements from. The clerks would take notes of what was said and the decisions made.

"If it is only his leaving that concerns you," Tauriel whispered. "He will not be gone for long."

Fili's head swung around to look at her. "What do you mean? Are you planning to dream something dangerous and bring him back?"

"I am."

A mallet was struck against a block of wood three times, making a loud knocking sound. The crowd went quiet as one of the clerks introduced the session in his biggest voice. The first citizen stepped forward to have his story heard by Kili.

Fili shook his head. "And he _agreed_? Why? What did he say? Was it about Erebor?"

"It has nothing to do with Erebor," she said. "He knows it is safe with you."

He lowered his head. His hair fell over his eyes. "It is not safe."

She blinked, and then realised what he had said. She turned her head. "What do you mean Erebor is not safe?"

Fili lowered his head further. "I mean it is not safe with me, a dwarf who is not ready to be King. I will never be able to do it. That's what I told Kili last night. That is what I will tell my family when I return. I just hope it doesn't come down to a fight."

"But..." She tried to get her thoughts in order. "You were not relying on him returning alive, were you?"

"No. Not at all." Fili folded his arms across his chest. "I know he wanted to save both Erebor and Dale. He chose Dale, and after a while I was all right with that. But when you said you were bringing him back, I thought maybe he wasn't."

Thunder rumbled in the sky. Tauriel looked up the dark clouds in the distance. Feeling the urge to protect Kili she began moving towards the table he was seated at. Eyes fell on her as she drew closer to the town's King. He was currently speaking to a man in the witness stand.

"That may be the problem..." Kili trailed off. He frowned and lifted his hands to his head.

Tauriel was by his side in a trice, taking care not to stand too close to him. She touched the back of his shoulder to let him know she was there.

Kili turned and smiled when he saw her. "It's nothing." He whispered. "I just felt something strange."

He leaned back towards the witness and winced. He cried out, clutching his chest.

"Kili!" She dropped down beside him and caught him around the chest just before he slid off of the stool and onto the floor. As Tauriel leaned his back against her leg, he looked up at the clouds in the sky, and then at her.

"I think they're pulling me back."

" _Now_?" Tauriel clutched him tighter as he shuddered from pain. "They cannot. If they do then they are going back on their word to you. You have at least half a day left. Tell them that you have some of a day left!"

He gripped her hand and his panicked eyes locked on hers. "I will come for you."

"No." She shook her head. "Do not give up like this. Tell them that they are wrong. You have time."

"Tauriel. I will not give up."

She choked back a sob. "I will not give up either."

The corners of his mouth turned up, and she watched helplessly as his grip slackened and the light faded from his eyes. Kili was gone.

Feeling suddenly empty, she kneeled over his chest and wept. She couldn't help it. He had been taken from her again too soon. She hadn't been ready for it.

Ignoring the cries and questions from the swarm of people around her, she closed her eyes. If she could she would make the whole world stop as she grieved for the loss of Kili.

But the world had never been her friend, and when the chest then began rising and falling under her cheek, she knew her time to grieve was up. Bard's chest was moving. Bard had returned, and he was safe and alive.

Someone grabbed her and roughly pulled her off him, and she let them. Bard's eyes were opening, and he watched her being hauled up with a confused expression on his face. She stared at him, wondering what he was thinking now that he had returned.

Sigrid and Bain ran to his side in an instant as well as several of his people. Tilda clutched at her older sister, looking frightened and confused. Bran helped someone make a pillow for the King's head, then turned to look at Tauriel with a defeated expression.

"Lady, I accuse you of using witchcraft on our King," Bran announced, looking unhappy. There mixed responses from the people who had heard him. Most cheered. "You will be held under lock and key until your hearing. Any trouble from you will be taken as a sign of your guilt."

She thought about escaping now, and then hesitated. His last words had been for her benefit only. He didn't want her to condemn herself. She felt her arms being twisted behind her roughly, and she decided not to fight the men, not even when someone twisted her arm too far.

After one last look at Bran, Bard and his children, she let the men haul her off to the cells. She could hear Bard speaking to Sigrid as they withdrew, asking her what had happened. Sigrid's reply was quiet and impossible to hear.

The men led Tauriel to the damp cave-like structures they used to hold prisoners, and she smiled inwardly. She had been the one to help the men restore the cells to working order. There were no faults for a prisoner to take advantage of. Now they would be used to keep her in.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N**

Original Guest. Good to know it held your attention. Thank you for the suggestion.

 **Chapter 18**

The young guards pushed Tauriel into a middle cell, and she made no protest as they locked her in. It would have been wiser to place her at the entrance where they could watch her all the time, but for once their inexperience was her gain. She would have to tell Bran of their mistake later, when she didn't need an option to escape. If there was a later.

Bran had publicly accused her of being a witch, which could mean her death, but it hadn't looked as if he'd wanted to do it. If he had been pressured to arrest her by others, then it was because they blamed her for Bard's sudden personality change. So when Bard had collapsed, Bran would have been expected to do something to protect him.

She sat down on the uneven floor and leaned her head and back against the cold metal bars. She hoped Tilda, Bain and Sigrid would recover quickly from seeing their father collapse. She hoped the tight-knit family would be able to pull together and help Bard recover.

She heard movement behind her, and recognised the familiar footsteps of a dwarf. Fili leaned his broad back against the bars of her cell, and slid down to sit with his back to her. Pieces of his blond hair appeared through the gaps.

"He's gone," said Fili in flat monotone.

"Yes," she said, noticing her voice was also sounding flat.

"What happened? It was too soon for him to leave."

"Your forefathers took him back. If they were not already dead, I would kill them all now."

Fili breathed in and out noisily. "I should challenge you for saying that, but I've just lost my brother, again, and it feels like someone punched me in the gut. I'm going to sit here for a while instead."

"There is no hurry to challenge me. Though you might want to consider doing something before I am tried and burned alive as a witch."

He snorted. "Don't give up on the men here yet. Bard seems fine. Maybe they'll just hang you."

"Comforting," she murmured dryly. "Did you want something? Or are you just here to torment me? You see, I plan on closing my eyes soon."

He groaned. "You want to sleepwalk? Here? Now? They'll definitely burn you alive if you do that."

"I do not plan on leaving the cell. My body has to remain here for the trial so that I have a chance to speak with Bard."

"But you've always been sleepwalking when you have those dreams. Do you expect it to work if you can't sleepwalk anywhere but in your cell?"

Tauriel paused. "You could be right. It may not work unless I escape from here first so that my body has room to move."

He sighed. "Have you really thought any of this through? Maybe Kili is happy up there. As far as I know, there is no pain or suffering for him to endure in the afterlife."

"There is," she countered. "Or were you fooled by the brave mask he put on for us? He was worried all the time about making a mistake."

Fili grew silent. She let the silence linger and closed her eyes. Something small and heavy hit the floor beside her, and she looked down.

It was a smooth dark rock. Familiar runes were carved roughly into the surface. With a gasp, she picked it up with shaking fingers.

"What are you doing with this?" she demanded, turning her head to look at him. "This was _his_. I returned it to him."

"We had to remove it from his…hands," he said, not meeting her eyes. "He needed to be buried holding his sword."

She took a deep breath and tried to keep calm. She didn't want to get angry at him. "You pried it from his hands so that he wouldn't be buried with it?"

He shifted slightly. "Yes.

Her hand tightened around the stone and she pressed it to her pursed lips. A wave of bitterness kept her silent.

Fili cleared his throat. "I was wrong to do it, but I was angry then, and you were easy to blame."

" _How_ you must have hated me," she finally said.

"I was wrong about that."

Furious, she closed her eyes, trying to give herself a moment to cool down.

"Look." Fili shifted his back a little. "I understand you're angry right now, but there is more that I need to tell you. It's about my mother. She didn't just dream about you, she also dreamed about Kili."

Tauriel clutched the stone to her chest, feeling it grow warm against her skin. "And?"

"In her dreams, Kili was looking for something before he came here." Fili frowned. "And he was looking for it in the things that we buried with him, the things he took with him to the afterlife. When I guessed it was the talisman, the one in your hand, I went to visit his tomb, thinking that returning it to him would stop my mother's dreams. I opened the coffin to give it back, and…he wasn't there."

The blood drained from her face as she remembered the dream of not finding his body. "What do you mean he was not there?"

He swallowed. "In the coffin there was no flesh, no maggots, no bones and no dust. Nothing. His remains were gone as if they never existed, and there were no signs that any thieves or grave robbers had been there. It felt...wrong."

She rested her head between her knees, wondering if she was going to be sick. "Oh."

"Any idea what it means when a dead body goes and disappears like that?"

"How would I know? I am not a witch," she snapped.

"I'm not saying you are. I just wondered if elves know about this kind of thing."

She breathed through her nausea, and leaned back against the bars. "Elves sometimes choose to sail West instead of waiting to die. When they do, they are alive, body and soul, and they are at peace when they make the choice. That is the only alternative to death that I know of, and it is not really an alternative."

"Then what does it mean when my brother dies violently and then his body goes missing?" asked Fili.

"He was not at peace, or perhaps it was not his time?" she thought out loud. She could only guess. Kili must had suffered more in the afterlife than she had thought, and he had hidden it well from her. It made her feel sad.

Fili shook his head. "Why did he need to possess Bard?"

"I do not know, and neither did he." Irritated, she impulsively elbowed Fili in the back through the bars, making him grunt. "If someone would let me close my eyes instead of talking, I might be able to bring him back sooner. Then you can ask _him_ your questions."

Fili cleared his throat. "In case you weren't paying attention, this is a dwarf, me, trying to make amends to an elf, you. History is recording this moment on parchment somewhere. Look, I know I have wronged you greatly, and if by some small spark of a chance you survive your meddling with the afterlife and do bring him home then…"

She groaned inwardly. "What? I will not tell him that you took the talisman. Believe me, I do not want to share that tale with him."

"No," he sighed. "Bring him home, tell him about the talisman if you want, and then you will see what sort of amends I will make to you."

Tauriel lifted one brow. "That sounds more like a promise than a threat."

"Close your eyes." He growled. "I will break you out and protect your body while you journey on. No one will be burning or hanging you while I'm here. All right?"

She didn't entirely trust Fili at that moment, but Kili was waiting for her on the other side. Even now he might be wondering what was taking her so long. She would have to take the chance.

Emptying her mind, she closed her eyes, and tried to think of the forest.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N**

Luinwen-2013. Hey! Good to hear from you. Ease up on those poor knuckle-bones.

kansa. Hi there! It's nice to have you here. Tauriel is getting her happy ending soon. She sure deserves it.

 **Chapter 19**

The fluid white mist of the stars carried Kili up into the sky and then into the Great White. He didn't know how much time had passed, but it felt like a while before the mist began to clear. He saw familiar stairs and realised that he was once more back among his kin.

Now once again dressed in chain mail and his travel coat of blue, Kili bent down and touched the stone floor that appeared beneath his feet. Gone was the grittiness of Middle-earth. The floor design was as complex and perfect as the cosmos. He was no longer in the world of the living.

"Kili!" Thorin came running down the stairs looking like a thundercloud. "What happened? Our ancestors have told me you failed!"

Kili straightened up and frowned. He knew he would have some explaining to do when he got back, but he had not expected to be told he had failed completely.

As his Uncle moved closer, he towered over Kili, reminding him that he was once again in the form of a dwarf. "They called you back earlier than planned because you chose to help the race of men instead of your own kind. Tell me you didn't."

"Dale needed the help more than Erebor," Kili reasoned, keeping his tone firm. "The people there don't even have proper homes to live in. Erebor has some problems, mostly about Fili not taking his place as King, but our kind are eating, drinking and living well."

Thorin glowered. "What else did you do down there?"

Kili met his eyes. "I did my duty. If I hadn't been dragged back here so soon I would have spent three whole days helping as as many lives as I could."

"What about Fili? Is he King?"

He hesitated and frowned. "He won't do it, Thorin."

His Uncle set his jaw. He looked angrier than Kili had expected.

"What is it? Tell me," Kili demanded.

Thorin shook his head. "Our ancestors have just told me that Dáin is going to kill Fili for the crown."

"What?" He felt faint. He stared at the impossibly perfect floor and wondered if he would sink right through it if he passed out. "But Fili doesn't want it! There should be a peaceful exchange between them if anything, not bloodshed."

"If you had just spent more time with our own, you could have discovered how things were! It doesn't surprise me that Dáin has become impatient and greedy after all this time, but I wasn't sent down there, _you_ were."

Kili looked around. He had to get out of here immediately. Tauriel was waiting for him and Fili needed protecting. He walked up the steps and turned to leave.

"Going somewhere?" asked Thorin.

He froze. Thorin's voice was too calm. Did he know what Kili was planning to do?

"I'm afraid you must remain here," his Uncle announced. "You must receive the punishment for failing in your duty, and you must pay the price for your journey to Middle Earth."

Kili shook his head. "I will gladly do what is needed, but right now Fili needs me. I have to do what I can to save him."

"Fili is no longer your concern."

He glared at his elder. "What are you talking about?"

Thorin lifted his head, and all the doors leading in and out of the hall slammed shut at once. The large space became dark and gloomy."The punishment and cost requires that you immediately give _all_ of your past memories to your ancestors. When it is done, you will not remember Fili, or the future he faces. You may not even remember your own name."

Kili felt winded. No memories? He would be a empty shell without them. He would forget about all those he cared about: Fili, Thorin, Tauriel, his friends, his mother. His ancestors might as well destroy him completely. "Thorin, you would do this to me?"

His Uncle failed to meet his eyes. "I would not, but as your guardian it is my duty to see this carried out."

Kili blew out a long breath. He drew his sword and pointed it at Thorin in challenge. He would not lose his memories. He would _not_.

His Uncle drew his own sword in one slow movement. He looked a little sad, as if he knew already who would win.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the forest, Tauriel cried out in pain as the weight of her body nearly pulled her arm out of its socket. She had not fallen far this time, but she was getting tired, and grabbing for branches to stop her fall was becoming harder. Gritting her teeth, she used her aching arms to haul her torso and legs up onto a sturdy branch.

The monster was not far away. It had chosen to be invisible when it met her this time, and why wouldn't it choose to do so? With this unfair advantage it had already battered her many times with the strength of a rock and twisted her limbs with the flexibility of a tree. Large thorns had lodged in her flesh setting her nerves on fire, but she had no chance to remove them now.

A long, black and twisted limb once again snatched her up like a plaything, and hammered her backwards against a tree trunk. Her spine slammed against it, and she couldn't tell if the cracking sound was from the tree or the rib bones inside her chest. She couldn't breathe, and she didn't know if I would ever be able to again when she heard a strange gurgling sound coming from her chest.

Suddenly, an apparition of a beautiful elf dressed in white appeared and drove all the darkness away. The evil being screamed and retreated, and Tauriel collapsed down to the branch beneath her feet with a thud. She was clawing back onto her hands and knees when one delicate, slender arm reached out and touched the back of her hand.

"Enough." The elf said in a deep, strong voice. Long gold and silver strands of shimmering hair fell forward as she leaned down to look at Tauriel with grey, solemn eyes. "Ignorant one, you do not know your own strength. Stop tormenting yourself. The evil comes from _within_ you."

Tauriel, battered and bruised, had a lot to say about where evil came from, but her mouth opened and closed without saying a single thing. The elf seemed to be of an ancient bloodline, and she also seemed to know more about Tauriel's newfound abilities than she did. Without quite knowing why, she nodded her head.

The elf smiled engagingly. "That talisman you have is quite remarkable. You will need it to bring your dwarf back. Give it to him as soon as you can, hmm?"

Tauriel gasped, and the elf was gone. Darkness returned, and she was once again surrounded by trees, the smell of her own blood, and the ominous presence of the creature.

"The evil comes from within me?" she whispered to no one. "What new game is this?"

As if in answer, a flash of memories raced through her mind like leaves in the wind. She remembered mourning Kili's death the first time he was lost to her; the moment she dressed herself in black to grieve and withdraw herself from the world; when food stopped appealing to her entirely; when she didn't care what Bard paid her so long as he let her stay near The Mountain; her burning anger at the men who called her a witch; when she started to cultivate her dream abilities without knowing what they were; killing spider after spider for the people of Dale; living as a forest elf among a town of men with no trees; refusing to care about her own life over her obsession with bringing Kili back from the dead; and how it all made her feel worse than nothing.

She cringed, and wished she had the strength to beat her own forehead against a tree trunk. She had forgotten that evil was not just something one stabbed with a blade. It had invaded her from the inside and she had not even noticed it.

* * *

Kili saw the hit coming, but he couldn't do anything about it. Thorin's fist slammed into his shoulder like a hammer. Kili rocked back, trying to regain his balance while keeping his sword hand steady. The blade was the only thing between him and a hole in the gut from Thorin's blade.

Fighting in the Great White was a curious thing. He hurt, he bled, there was sweat and there were bruises, but no one was getting tired or even hinting at slowing down. Thorin was just as strong as he was when the fight started, and Kili was just as quick.

However, it was becoming clear that no one was going to win this fight, because it would never end. And Thorin was stubborn enough to keep it going for eternity.

As if reading his mind, Thorin stepped back. "Giving up already? You're not even going to try to see if you can beat me?"

"I _can't_ beat you, but you can't beat me either. We're dead, remember? I could cut all your limbs off and you would probably stick them back on while fighting me with your teeth."

Thorin looked intrigued, and swung his sword at Kili in a complicated move. "Give it a try and we'll find out."

Kili ducked and rolled back to an upright stance. "I am not cutting off all your limbs. I have somewhere I have to be."

"You're not going anywhere." His Uncle attacked again. Kili twisted his blade and let Thorin's sword slide right off it. Thorin's right side was left open by the move, and Kili sliced at his rib cage.

Blood spattered on Thorin's clothes, but it wouldn't make any difference. Kili moved away. "Can't they take my memories later?"

"Yield, and I will consider it," bargained Thorin.

"I know you. You won't consider it at all." Kili aimed a cut at his Uncle's arm and was blocked. He aimed a hit at Thorin's sword hand and got his knuckles sliced open for his trouble.

Slice, block, slice, block, impact. Kili fell back against a door from another of Thorin's punches. He stayed where he was, and taunted his Uncle by cutting at his face and feet.

After a particularly long cut on his cheek, Thorin aimed a hard punch at Kili's head. As his fist gained momentum, Kili dropped down and ran out the side. His Uncle roared as wood splintered. Thorin had just punched a dwarf-sized escape hole through Kili's temporary prison.

While Thorin was stumbling on the floor, Kili took a running jump and threw himself over his Uncle and out of the room. He picked a direction he knew and sprinted like an elf on horseback was after him.

* * *

After settling herself against the trunk, Tauriel stopped to inspect her hands. They were scratched and bloody. The one that had caught the branch had razed a flap of skin off of her palm. She ripped a couple of strips of cloth off the bottom of her tunic and wrapped them over the fresh wounds. It would have to do.

The evil being still hadn't moved from its hiding place. It was either waiting for her to move, or it was just as subdued by the elf's appearance and words as she was.

"Whatever you are, you will not beat me today," she taunted, looking in the direction where she guessed the foul creature was hiding. "Kili has made promises, and so have I."

Nothing. No movement whatsoever.

She turned towards the nearest tree, found a foothold and climbed up. In the distance, thunder rumbled.

She only stopped to catch her breath when she reached another solid branch.

"Do you know why?" she said. "You may be bigger than me, but my will is stronger."

Thunder rumbled again. It was closer this time. A breeze swept through the tree trunks, making them sway and creak.

Tauriel smiled. She could smell a storm coming. It was coming to knock her down, but this was still _her_ dream and these were healthy young trees. She reached for a creeping vine and continued her way up.

The creature didn't move to follow her.


	20. Chapter 20

Tauriel was closer to reaching the top than she ever had before, but the way the tree swayed under her was frightening, and there were hardly any branches and footholds at this height. The storm was in full swing now. The rain was falling hard, drenching her to the bone, and the lightning was striking the trees around her, starting many small fires.

Her nerves were exhausted from bracing herself to be shocked alive, and she was almost deaf from the thunder cracking overhead. As the now thin trunk threw her from side to side, Tauriel decided it was time to try something new. She looked up and thought of the leaf boat she had made to take Kili to Erebor.

Pulling her hair out of her face, she unwound loops of vine from surrounding trees and secured them into one long line. She cut holes in two sides of the boat with a branch and threaded the vine through them. When she was done, she tied a strong knot and then waited for lightning to strike.

The tree's trunk blew towards another tree just as it was being struck. The energy shot down it, a bright spark of light that illuminated the trunk's outline. Tauriel hauled the vine's loose end up into the air, letting it hit the current and asking it to carry the rope to its source.

She scrambled up the trunk as the current travelled down the rope and to the tree she was clinging to. She gritted her teeth and waited for the energy to hit her. Thunder cracked up above, making her reach for her ears, but after several heartbeats she opened her eyes. The lightning hadn't struck her.

She eased herself back down to the boat and saw that the vine had done as she had wished. She was fortunate. She climbed into the leaf boat, got a good firm grip on the vine and prepared herself. Then she whispered to the vine what she needed it to do.

Lightning struck again, and suddenly she and the boat were weightless, shooting into the sky like a pneumatic lift. In a moment the rain had gone, and she was soaring up above the clouds, past the stars and into a world of white.

The boat dropped and jerked to a sudden halt, and she held on tight until it had settled. The leaves rustled on the bottom of the boat caught her weight. Wet and shaking, she took a few gasping breaths, and then looked around.

She was in a room crafted by dwarves. She could tell it was their work by the type of weapons and axes decorating the walls. Spying a large bow and a quiver full of arrows, she began to relax. She could borrow it until she worked out how safe she was.

Something crashed into the far wall. Sensing danger, Tauriel urged herself to let go of the boat and climb onto the floor's surface. Seeing that the floor was sturdy, she rose to standing and approached the bow and arrows as swiftly as she could. Lifting the bow into her arms felt like coming home. The string tension was a little tight, but there was no time to sit down and adjust it.

Something crashed into the wall again, and Tauriel wondered if there were any cave trolls up in the Great White. She got a feel for the dwarves' bow, pointed an arrow at where the creature was likely to come through, and waited.

There was a roar, and a part of the wall exploded into pieces of plaster and splinters. Two bodies came crashing through wielding swords. The first was a large hairy dwarf bellowing in frustration. In shock, Tauriel realised it was Thorin, the former King Under the Mountain.

The second body was soon revealed to be Kili. He grabbed the frame of the newly made entrance and used it to swing his dwarf's body up and kick out at Thorin's waist. Thorin stumbled a step backwards and Kili used the chance to land on his feet and dash across the room straight towards Tauriel.

His piercing brown eyes locked on Tauriel when he was halfway across the room. In the split second that he recognised her, signs of both joy and worry lined his face. He hesitated for less than a breath and then continued racing towards her.

"Run!" he called out.

Unable to help herself, Tauriel fired a couple of arrows at Thorin before Kili reached her. They sunk into the flesh of the dwarf's thigh with ease, but the fresh injury didn't seem to slow him down at all. He marched to the wall to remove an axe from it and then moved to charge them like a bull.

"Undying Lands. He's invulnerable." Kili explained, taking her by the arm and steering her in the opposite direction.

"Wait! Our means of escape is in this room."

Almost upon them, Thorin roared. Tauriel turned and threw herself at him in a surprise attack. She managed to knock him back, but at the last moment she had to pull out the bow and use it to deflect the axe blade coming down on her head. She kneeled from the force behind it.

Thorin turned his fierce scowl down on her. "Who are you? This is no place for elves."

The flat side of an axe struck hard at Thorin's head, knocking him sideways. Two hands grabbed Tauriel under her arms and slid her out from under Thorin's shadow. Kili hauled her to her feet and dragged her over to a wall laden with daggers.

"Use weapons rather than yourself, darling," he reasoned. "I'd rather not test out the Undying Lands where you're concerned."

Her lips twisted at the use of the endearment, but she hung the bow on her shoulder and focused on prising the daggers off the wall and throwing the daggers at Kili's Uncle, keeping him occupied with finding shelter on the other side of the room. "Why are you fighting Thorin?"

His dark brows lowered. "Small family disagreement. Which way is out?"

She frowned and nodded towards the leaf boat. They threw another set of knives at Thorin, which he deflected with an axe, and they then made a run for the boat. Kili followed her lead when she grabbed the vine with both hands. She whispered to the vine and told it what she needed it to do. There was no lightning to rely on this time, but she was in the Great White, a world humming with energy.

It dropped like an anchor into the sea, and she wasn't ready for it. Her legs came off the boat and her body twisted upside down, her hair tangling in her face. From below, Kili secured her grip on the vine by folding his hands over hers. The last thing she saw of the Great White was an unexpected smile on Thorin's face.

She had no chance to think about what that smile meant. Her limbs were shaken and jerked around as they gained momentum. Tauriel felt her clothes whipping against her skin and knew she was already dry. Kili tried to pull her down slowly, his black hair fluttering up against her cheek and neck as she got closer. But she didn't get very far.

Feeling something dark approaching them, Tauriel wound her legs around the vine and let one hand go. Kili cried something up to her and reached to grip her shoulder. With her free hand, she reached in her pockets for the talisman, and slowly, carefully, pulled it out.

For a harmless little stone it had come to mean a lot. It held Kili's promise to his mother to return alive, it held his wish for her to return to him, it held Fili's bitter grief as he'd stolen it from Kili's hands, and it held Fili's hope for the future when he returned it to her.

She lowered the talisman slowly and let Kili grasp her hand once again.

His hand jolted when it touched the stone, and he gripped her hand tighter. He stared up at her, at the growing darkness around them and shook his head in bewilderment. However, she had no explanation for him. She had done what she could, now all they could do was hold on.

They approached a what looked like a black hole, and Tauriel knew a moment of fear and hopelessness as she realised they were going to fall into it. Nothing good could be in there. Nothing.

They shot through into the darkest place in the world. Erebor's unlit cavern was nothing compared to it. A horrible thing was pushing at her mind, showing her images of a dark future; one where Kili locked her up in an underground cell and used her new abilities to become a cold King Under the Mountain. She gritted her teeth and silently told it to leave her alone. She would not let it enter her mind.

The thing hissed and tried to claw at her hands in Kili's, and that's when she lost consciousness.


	21. Chapter 21

Tauriel was shivering when she awoke.

"Kili?" She lifted her head from where it rested in the dry grass, and squinted out at the sun-drenched lands surrounding her. The Desolation of Smaug. Fear twisted her insides; there was no one in sight. She struggled to rise from the ground. "Kili!"

A pair of rough hands reached for her and pulled her back down amongst the grasses, and she found herself looking at familiar dark brown eyes, a long nose and black hair.

"Kili!" She gasped and clutched at the armour-plating on his shoulders. "You are you! I mean...you are here! I see you. I mean-"

"I have my body back." He finished for her, smiling. His eyes did the same, crinkling in the corners.

Tauriel reached up to smooth the tiny crinkles and grinned fiercely. "Your chest; is it beating? Are you alive?" Without waiting for a response, she moved her head to his chest and listened.

"I think so," he said, rumbling with laughter. "I know I'm breathing."

A faint reassuring thudding sound told Tauriel that he was truly alive. They had done it. They had defied the stars, and they were alive. She rose again to look at him, and found herself wanting to laugh and cry.

He lifted his hands to frame her face, and ran his thumbs back and forth over her cheeks. "Can I hold you?"

She smiled through a sob and then nodded furiously. He slowly pulled her into his arms, and she did the same, burying her face in his shoulder and hiding a few more tears.

"You smell like the forest," he said in her ear.

"I miss the forest," she confessed impulsively while inhaling his scent of earth and fire. "But not as much as I have missed you."

"I know," he soothed. One of his hands came up to touch her hair. "I know."

They heard footsteps approaching them. After a long moment, Kili leaned back, held up three fingers and started counting down. Slowly and quietly, Tauriel pulled the dwarves' bow from over her shoulder and fitted an arrow to it.

She rose up and fired a warning shot at the intruder just as Kili ran to meet him with his sword. They both stopped at the same time, recognising the intruder's face.

Tauriel lowered her bow. "Fili."

Fili lowered his axe, gaped at her and then gaped at Kili. "You did it. You did it you mad, brilliant, beautiful elf!"

Before Tauriel or Kili could speak, Fili knocked his brother sideways with a rough bear hug. Suppressing a smile, Tauriel went to put the arrow away, and found herself being tackled off balance as well. Fili laughed, squeezed her waist tight and gave her a little shake before letting her go. Kili managed to laugh and look annoyed at the same time.

"Now Kili, I didn't mean anything by it," reassured Fili, slapping Tauriel on her back, hard. "She's as good as my sister-in-law now and I have a lot to make up for. You have to let me treat her as one of our own, eh Tauriel?"

"Yes, do." She smiled and thumped Fili on his back a little too hard. He winced satisfyingly and gave her a knowing grimace. She could get used to this.

Kili glanced around. "This is the Desolation of Smaug. How did you find us here?"

"Long story short, Tauriel wanted to sleepwalk and I agreed to protect her," said Fili. "She was struggling at first because she was locked up. She kept climbing the walls."

"Locked up!" Kili scowled in the direction of Dale. "Why would they do that?"

Fili shrugged. "They think she used black magic on Bard."

Kili looked at Tauriel. "Why would they think that?"

"Oh I don't know...because he was possessed by a young dwarf, maybe?" Fili answered for her.

Tauriel put the bow back over her shoulder. "How _did_ you get me out? I made those cells inescapable."

Fili pointed a thumb at his own chest. "Those guards had no chance holding onto their keys. I let you out and you went on your scary way."

"Did anyone see me?" she asked, a little embarrassed.

"Only half the town and most of the guards put on the gate. But I protected you from them all and without killing anyone!" he said, looking smug. "I can see you taught them some tricks, Lady Elf, but those men need some more in-depth training. They're not going to be able to keep out a small army the way they are."

Given that she'd only been in Dale for a couple of seasons, Tauriel thought they were doing remarkably well. Still, she was glad that Fili had no trouble keeping them at bay. "My hero. Any spiders to worry about?"

"None that were interested in us." Fili relaxed his stance. "Now what? Where are we going? Under the Mountain?"

Kili shook his head. "We'll need a plan first. Thorin told me that Dáin plans to kill you for the crown."

Tauriel shifted her weight. "Before we go anywhere else, I need to return to Dale and do some tale swapping with the King first. I owe him a great deal and he deserves to know what happened."

Fili looked doubtful. "We should go with you, but do you think Bard will allow us to see him? Or is he just going to have us locked up and you tried as a witch?"

Kili's expression darkened. "He's not going to get the chance. Either he agrees to talk or we leave."

She looked uncertain. "He is a private man, and he will be angry, but there is a chance he will want to listen to what we have to say."

"Then we'll try," said Kili. "And see if we can piece the whole story together with him."

They checked their weapons, Tauriel loosened the string on the bow, and they moved at an easy pace towards the gates of Dale. Every now and then Kili would stop to enjoy their surroundings, or sometimes just study a plant or a rock he'd seen. Tauriel found herself doing the same, appreciating that she was once again in the land of the living.

Fili took the front position as they entered the city gates, and they all kept their weapons ready for an attack. Tauriel's damaged ears were still able to pick up whispers of the word 'witch' as they walked through the town. But no one dared to confront them, not until they reached the steps up to the Great Hall.

Guards formed a clear line between them and the entrance to Bard's home. A few stepped back to let Bran and Bard come forward. Bran had his sword out and pointed it at Fili.

"Surrender your weapons," ordered Bran. "And hand over the accused witch."

Kili bristled. "After all the things she did for you."

Bran stiffened. "Surrender your weapons!"

Fili grinned. "Afraid I might fight off all your men once more? I didn't kill them before; I won't promise that again."

"We came here in good faith to speak with the King," said Kili. "But I can smell fear on all of you, and I will not submit my weapons to ignorant fools."

Bard placed a hand on Bran's shoulder and came forward. He was dressed in an odd mix of old and new clothes. Tauriel met his eyes. His brow furrowed and he looked away. He seemed confused, and nervous.

"Let them through," said Bard. "I will speak with them in private."

Bran glanced warily at Kili. "Your Highness, I think-"

"That it's time for breakfast. A good idea Bran," finished Bard with a glint in his eye. "Our guests will join me, while you will send your men about their day. That's not a suggestion."

The men cleared the area, and that was when Tauriel saw it; the completed witch's pyre near the stairs.


End file.
